Application Processing time ...

Hello,


I am an Asian Canadian and I work in IT for a large bank here in Toronto (which happens to have a branch in Australia).

I am a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport.

I am thinking of migrating to Australia on a "Skilled - Independent (Migrant) Visa ", just wondering how much time would it take for the whole paper work to finish.

Please advise.

Thanks,
Kumar.

I can't speak to anything but my situation, however I will say that the Australians seem to be very efficient. My 457 via Deloitte and Touche took 3 days, however I understand that the normal amount of time for a correctly filled out form is about 2-4 weeks.

My son's Travel and Vacation visa took only about 1 week.

I would run with 4-6 weeks for a worst case scenario. Be prepared to be able to prove your education, your ability to speak and write English, photos, and copies of your diplomas and such.

Best of luck!

jcreyb.....

Your processing time really isn't helpful as you applied for a completely different visa. You applied for a 457 employer sponsored temporary visa which are generally granted very quickly (ie, a month or two at most).

The visa the poster was asking about is a skilled independent 175 permanent visa. Which is completely different. So there really is no comparison to be made, although I know you were trying to help.

Unfortunately time frames for those visas vary widely depending on a number of factors, such as: demand of occupation, country of origin (low/high risk cases), complications (medical, child custody, etc).

Generally speaking it could be as short as a few months if you're occupation is highly in demand, you're from a low risk country and you have no complications and all your stuff is in order. It could also take as long as 2 years if you're from a high risk country, etc, etc. I would expect a time frame of about 4-8 months though if you've got an occupation in demand, although I will admit I haven't been following the time scales that closely at the moment as our visa was granted in 2006.

Apparently if your occupation is not on the needed skills list, and you apply for a 175 or a 176, they are saying they won't even be looking at your application until late 2012.

Hopefully you are on the skills in demand list because then it would be much faster. Basically they're trying to priority process those apps, by basically not dealing at all with any applications that don't supply skills that are highly needed here.

Hello,

Thanks to all who replied, I was a bit tied with work so could not check the replies to my post.

Quick question : what is the differance between 175 and 176 ?


Thanks,
Kumar.

Short answer to that is there is a points system that indicates if you will qualify for immigration. If you have over 120 points, you technically qualify for entry "on your own merits" on a 175 visa. That doesn't mean you will be granted one, only that you qualify to apply. If you have I think it's over 100, or maybe over 110 points, you can apply to the state you wish to move to for state sponsorship. That will give you your extra points, and if you go that route you are applying for a 176 visa. The conditions on the 176 indicate that you have to live in that state for a minimum of 2 years, although that's within reason, if you absolutely cannot find work, or it's financially unreasonable I think you can move. State sponsorship basically means that the state is endorsing your application, they're looking at your skills and saying, yes we need you here, we'll endorse this.

You should read a lot more about it here: http://www.immi.gov.au/ before you get much further in your decisions.

Thanks again.