skilled visa 176

[tamara1973]

I've been searching the net for lots of info regarding visas and one migration agent on a website told me that the best way to go for me would be a skilled state sponsored visa subclass 176. I'm a med lab tech in Montreal and apparently NSW would sponsor me. I was wondering if anyone else got that kind of visa and what info you have about it.
I was told that it's a PR visa and that once i get it it's completely flexible meaning that i can stay in Aus for even just a day (to activate it) and then come back to Canada for a year or 2 and then go back to Aus. And after 5 years it will be automatically renewed for another 5 years and then i can apply for citizenship.
Also, even though NSW would sponsor me, i wouldn't be abbligated to work in that state.I could work anywhere in Aus and i could also work n another job besides my field.
But, i read on other websites that i have to stay in Aus for the first 2 years in order to keep my visa and that i would have to work in the state that sponsors me exept for the major cities like sydney, melbourne etc. So i'm confused.
Anyone have any info for me?

[comet555]

Well first off the best place to get visa information is from the government website, they are never wrong!
http://www.immi.gov.au/

Secondly, you do have a few things wrong so hopefully I can correct some of it.

Once you are granted your PR visa it is valid for 5 years. You will need to visit Australia (even for just a day) to validate it. You must validate your visa in the time frame they give you, which is usually 1 year from the date of when you did your medicals or police checks. If you did either of those things early you'll have less time to validate, some people only end up with a month or two to validate. We had 9 months as we did the medicals and police checks later on in the visa process.

Now, to keep your PR visa you will need to actually move there some time within the 5 year period. You could wait until the last month before it expires to do it if you like. If you do not move to Australia within the 5 years it WILL expire.

However, assuming you activitated your visa in the time given and you've moved there within the 5 years then you're ok. Once that 5 years is up you still keep your PR (as long as you are living in Oz) but if you want to travel outside Australia you will need an RRV (return resident visa). It's the visa label itself that expires, the PR is still good as long as you're in Oz. The RRV visa costs about $100-200 I think and you'll need to be living in Australia or have significant ties in order to get one. As long as you have actually moved there it's not an issue. Basicallly the RRV means you keep your PR and allows you travel outside Australia as long as you have the RRV.

Once you have PR you need to clock up a full 3 years living in Australia to be apply to apply for citizenship. This does not need to be within the 5 years of your visa label, although for most people it is. Once you've clocked up 3 years (out of the past 4) living in Oz then you can apply for citizenship.

I'm sure that all sounds complicated so here's an example.

You get your PR visa and validate it 6 months later (within their timeframe).

Then you go back to Canada for 2 years before you make the big move to Oz. Once living in Australia you manage to clock up about 2.5 years living there before you visa label expires. You still have PR but then you'll need an RRV (return resident visa) to travel outside Australia.

Once you hit the 3 year mark you apply for citizenship, which could take about 6-8 months to get. Once you've got citizenship you're free to do what you like.

So to clarify what you said, the PR visa does not automatically renew for 5 years. It is in fact good forever once you are granted it but the catch is that you have MOVE to Australia within the 5 years and continue to have ties there. Furthermore your PR is always good as long as you're here, it's just your ability to travel OUT of the country and return that is a problem, hence the need for the RRV.


As for your question regarding the sponsorship, I have read that it is more of a moral obligation although if they think you never intended upon living in your sponsored state there could be issues. Like, if you got the NSW sponsored 176, arrived, and within a month left for another state. You could have issues if you couldn't show that you at least tried to stay and work in that state. But as far as I can tell from reading on the internet it's really only a moral obligation and if you do move to another state there's not much they can do. Alternatively I think after a decent amount of time you might be able to ask the state to release you from the obligation if you've made an effort to stay but can't for whatever reason.

I'm not an expert in the sponsored visas (or any for that matter) as they are just becomming more important with the quicker visas (as opposed to the unsponsored 175). Have you checked to see whether you're eligible for the 175 independent? If you are there are no ties whatsoever to any state, although it would take longer to grant I think.

The best place for information is the British Expats website as there are so many people on there and lots of knowledge there too. It is the only place I go for information as it's pretty reliable overall. It's not just people from the UK either, there are a few Canadians (me included).
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=54

This is the link to the immigration section:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

Here's a few relevant threads:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthre ... ored+state

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?
t=600413&highlight=176+obligation+to+sponsored+state

Lastly.... using a migration agent is probably not necessary. It really depends how comfortable you are with the forms and how much time you want to put into it. I did our application (for the 175) myself and it was relatively easy although I did have to do a bit of double checking of information. If you're not sure what to do I would do an initial consulation with an agent (usually free) and see what they have to say.

[tamara1973]

Thank you soooooooooo much for your reply! You are great at explaining things! And thank you for all those liks too.Very helpful.
I guess you confirmed everything that the migration agent told me. Except for thepart about the visa automatically renewing. I guess i mi-used the word "automatically"

To answer your question about the 175 visa, i did check and i don't have enough points for it.
Oh and i did sign up for the british expats forum and i believe you are the same Comet who answered one of my posts there. I see the beginning of a beautiful friendship! lol
Thanks again,
Tamara

[comet555]

Yes, that was me on the British Expats site (BE as we call it).

I see Dorothy has replied to you, she very helpful and she was kind enough to answer a lot of the questions I had when we first moved. She also worked in a migration agents office for a little while so she knows a fair bit about visas.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I've been through it myself so I know all about the endless questions that happen in the process.

Good luck with the visa.

[tamara1973]

Thank you! You are very kind. I'll go check Dorothey's replies.