# 176 - how long after visa is granted must we move there?!



## coolbananalady (Jul 16, 2011)

Hey guys.
I am planning to apply for a 176 with a State Sponsor by the end of the year. I have read, it takes between 1 and 2 years for this visa to be granted. However, I wanna start my studies again so I would not be able to move to Australia before June 2013. Anyone knows how long do we have to move to Australia after the visa is granted?
Thanks for your help.
C


----------



## SarahM (Feb 8, 2011)

coolbananalady said:


> Hey guys.
> I am planning to apply for a 176 with a State Sponsor by the end of the year. I have read, it takes between 1 and 2 years for this visa to be granted. However, I wanna start my studies again so I would not be able to move to Australia before June 2013. Anyone knows how long do we have to move to Australia after the visa is granted?
> Thanks for your help.
> C


Hi and welcome. Once you get the visa you can move to Australia as soon as you want, but I think you have to enter Australia before your police check or medical expires. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## Mhandire (Jul 15, 2011)

Hi
I read somewhere that you are given a year to get to Australia. The countdown starts from the moment they request your medicals. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Sent from my iPhone using Australia


----------



## SarahM (Feb 8, 2011)

Mhandire said:


> Hi
> I read somewhere that you are given a year to get to Australia. The countdown starts from the moment they request your medicals. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Australia


I'm pretty sure you have to enter before your police check/medical expires. For example if you did your medical July, and the visa was granted August, you have to enter Aus by July next year. I think


----------



## coolbananalady (Jul 16, 2011)

Thanks for your reply  I have tried to find the answer but could not find it anywhere! I guess I will have to come for a few weeks to validate my visa and then move later when I have finished my studies...


----------



## aussiegirl (Dec 15, 2009)

Hi,

You are given a date that you must enter Australia before when your visa is granted. It seems to be linked to the expiration of the police checs and medicals, which are valid for a year, as past posters have said.

So, if your visa takes a long time to process, this will shorten the time you are able to stay in your country and prepare for moving to Australia once the visa is granted. You could request a later entry date, but you may have to do medicals and police checks again. And if you didn't request a late entry when you first applied, your CO may be reluctant to let you have a later entry, so make sure you let your CO know straight away if this is what you want to do.


----------



## coolbananalady (Jul 16, 2011)

Hey AussieGirl  Thank you for your answer! What do you call CO?! Can we request a later entry date when we apply for the visa?!


----------



## aussiegirl (Dec 15, 2009)

Hi again coolbananalady,

A CO is your case officer. This is the DIAC officer who handles your application. Some time after you apply, you will be allocated a CO.This can take quite a while, sometimes up to 6 months or more for skilled visas. When you get a CO, they usually send you an e-mail and possible request for extra documents if needed.

And, yes, if you want to go to Australia at a particular time you need to tell DIAC when you apply in a conver letter. You need to give the date you want to enter and a brief reason as to why.


----------



## Hawthorn (Dec 18, 2009)

Hi Aussiegirl,
As per my understanding, in the Grant letter it usually states that Visa holders must make their INITIAL entry to Australia by no later that ....(specified date). This specified date is not possible to change.
It means the visa holders can come and do validation of their visas before the specified date mentioned above and come back to their country if they can not arrange to stay permanently in Australia. They then are able to come to Australia later since the PR visa is validated for 5 years.


----------



## aussiegirl (Dec 15, 2009)

Hi Hawthorne,

I know what you're saying, but I had read on the DIAC site (more specifically in the partner booklet) that applicants could request a later initial entry date at the time of applying if they thought they needed longer to prepare before entering Australia the first time. And as you said, if they have been granted the visa, it's almost impossible to change the entry date.

I may have understood incorrectly, but that was my impression.


----------



## Hawthorn (Dec 18, 2009)

Hi Aussiegirl,
We are talking about GMS 176 visa. In the 176 visa I could not find anywhere as states in the partner visa that you quoted. The initial entry is the first entry to Australia you have to make in order to validate your visa. If you can not make the inital entry on/or before the date given in the grant letter then your visa is expired.


----------

