sept 01st visa changes

[Guest chillyanna]

is there anybody living in limbo untill the new rules are finally announced sept 01st about 1AM our time?

[Guest Trakki]

Have been in limbo amd unsure whether I would still get the points. Just worked it out and need 120 and think I get 125. I think it is ridiculous that someone who is born and bred in England but does not do 'the test' can only be classed as competent and not proficient on the basis of having a passport. I have got 2 English GCSE's and a degree (done at an English university!!) so surely that makes me proficient but I get 10 points less as I have not done 'the test'. Mad!!

 

Sorry rant over!!! Just hope that I have worked out the points right.

Hope you are ok with the new changes etc

 

Tracey

[Guest nikkiandlee]

Hi,

 

To be fair there are lots of people in England with an British Passport who can't speak English very proficiantly, although most of them were not born here! I am under the understanding you can take the test if you require the extra points!

 

Nikki

[Guest soggy]

Hi,

 

To be fair there are lots of people in England with an British Passport who can't speak English very proficiantly, although most of them were not born here! I am under the understanding you can take the test if you require the extra points!

 

Nikki

 

Hi your right about taking the test if you need the points. 1 of the 4 parts in the test is writing, and halp the under 21s think that text writing is correct and have never heard of capital letters.

 

Simon

[Guest soggy]

Hi your right about taking the test if you need the points. 1 of the 4 parts in the test is writing, and halp the under 21s think that text writing is correct and have never heard of capital letters.

 

Simon

 

Should have checked the spelling before I posted that one!

 

Simon

[Guest Aussiebound]

Just pleased we have lodged our visa already, we would have enough points before or after 1st Sept, but so much more hassle with the IELTS tests. Good luck to everyone that has to take them.

[Guest nikkiandlee]

Hi your right about taking the test if you need the points. 1 of the 4 parts in the test is writing, and halp the under 21s think that text writing is correct and have never heard of capital letters.

 

Simon

 

Very true, up until a couple of weeks ago i taught in a college and the spelling was terrible,(not that i'm a great speller however i can use a dictionary and know that gr8 is not how you spell great!!!). The thing is the college is then at liberty to teach the teenagers what 15 years at school couldn't!!!!!!!!!

 

Could I ask you Simon where abouts you live in Medway, we orignally come from down that way!!!

 

Nikki

[cormcvcr]

Hi there,

 

We lodged our visa application on 25th July, will the new changes affect us or will our original application still stand?

 

We haven't received an acknowledgement as yet and I am in a bit of a panic now just in case the changes cause us problems.

[Guest soggy]

Very true, up until a couple of weeks ago i taught in a college and the spelling was terrible,(not that i'm a great speller however i can use a dictionary and know that gr8 is not how you spell great!!!). The thing is the college is then at liberty to teach the teenagers what 15 years at school couldn't!!!!!!!!!

 

Could I ask you Simon where abouts you live in Medway, we orignally come from down that way!!!

 

Nikki

Hi Nikki,

 

Im from Strood, and so far always have been apart from a year in Borstal, the village not the institution ! promise.

 

Simon

[Guest nikkiandlee]

Hi Soggy

 

My uncle used to live in Strood, Great cinema complex there!!!

 

Don't tell anyone but I come from Sheppey Lee and I went to school on the Island, I don't have webbed feet honestly however i may be slightly mad:goofy: ha ha!

 

I used to teach at Rochester Mid Kent college all great fun!

 

Nikki

[Guest nikkiandlee]

Hi we recieved this from our Agent

"People who have made an application for a skilled visa (where the visa application was lodged) on or before 31 August 2007 will not be affected by the changes.

Note that most people will not be affected (negatively) by the changes. The majority may actually benefit from these changes e.g.

1. If you had to make a $ 100 000 bond to meet the pass mark, you can now claim 5 more for English and not make the bond
   
2. If you required 2 skills assessments to claim 5 points for spouse qualifications, it may be possible to now do one skills assessment only (by claiming 5 more for English)
   
3. Some applicants on 115 points, and a SIR visa - may potentially now apply directly for a permanent residence visa by claiming 5 additional points for English

If you have any questions, please feel free to revert back to your consultant who will re-assess you if required."

 

This however is a lot longer but I hope it will give you a general idea!

 

Nikki

[Guest soggy]

Hi Soggy

 

My uncle used to live in Strood, Great cinema complex there!!!

 

Don't tell anyone but I come from Sheppey Lee and I went to school on the Island, I don't have webbed feet honestly however i may be slightly mad:goofy: ha ha!

 

I used to teach at Rochester Mid Kent college all great fun!

 

Nikki

I wont mention sheep, promise, I went to mid kent as a mature student 95 to 97 I think all I remember is the Tiger Moth:D

 

Simon

[cormcvcr]

Thanks very much for that, the last time I spoke to my agent was the day after my visa application was lodged and he did say that he was pushing to get it in before the changes occurred. We are going on a subclass 495 temporary visa, the week after we submitted our application, we were told that my husbands occupation was now on the MODL and we could pull the application and re-submit in order to gain permanent residency, but it would unfortunately have the full cost of the visa again! when it would only cost us around $400/600 when the time comes to gain permanent after 2 years there.

 

So we opted to stick it out as it was and hope for the best time wise, but with the changes happening and the back log now it is going to take soooooo much longer!

 

Thanks for the information it's put my mind at rest.

 

This site is great, I had been on expat focus but this is a bit more personal because it has everything to do with Adelaide instead of the whole of Australia.

 

Keep up the good advice guys!!!!

[Guest nikkiandlee]

Cormcvcr,

 

Your more than welcome, hope everything goes well. I would say you made the right decision its what we would have done in your position.

 

Soggy,

 

Wellies have now been put away as we live in the midlands

 

Nikki

[Guest soggy]

Thanks very much for that, the last time I spoke to my agent was the day after my visa application was lodged and he did say that he was pushing to get it in before the changes occurred. We are going on a subclass 495 temporary visa, the week after we submitted our application, we were told that my husbands occupation was now on the MODL and we could pull the application and re-submit in order to gain permanent residency, but it would unfortunately have the full cost of the visa again! when it would only cost us around $400/600 when the time comes to gain permanent after 2 years there.

 

So we opted to stick it out as it was and hope for the best time wise, but with the changes happening and the back log now it is going to take soooooo much longer!

 

Thanks for the information it's put my mind at rest.

 

This site is great, I had been on expat focus but this is a bit more personal because it has everything to do with Adelaide instead of the whole of Australia.

 

Keep up the good advice guys!!!!

 

Hi ,

I am a painter and decorator who had the same decision to make and made the same one as you, I didnt want to pay the extra money but starting again applying for a visa that takes longer was the main reason.

I was looking on the DIAC website , frequently asked questions about new regulations on and found this.

 

I currently hold a SIR (subclass 495) visa. What are my options when the new visa structure is introduced on 1 September 2007?

From 1 September 2007, SIR visa holders seeking to extend their visa for 12 months should apply for a Skilled – Regional Sponsored visa (subclass 487). Applicants for this visa must be in Australia at the time they apply and at the time the visa is granted.

SIR visa holders applying for a permanent visa should apply for a Skilled –

 

Regional visa (subclass 887). Applicants for this visa will need to have complied with the conditions of their provisional visa and have lived for two years and worked full-time for one year in regional Australia.

SIR visa holders who have an employer sponsor in regional Australia can apply for a Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa. From 1 September 2007, the requirement that you must have held your SIR visa for at least two years before applying for a RSMS visa will be removed.

it may be worth checking with your agent if this is the short cut to PR it appears to be to me. If you find out anything let me know pleasessssssssssssss.

Simon

[cormcvcr]

We were told that as long as you do work for 12 months out of the 2 years you can apply for permanent residency and that it would not be problem as long as we had kept our nose clean and as you say complied with the rules and regulations of the temporary visa.

 

We were in a dilema as to start the visa again, which we would have done if it had not cost the same again, but even if we did that there was no guarantee that it would have been processed any quicker.

 

Wait, Wait, Wait, there doesn't seem to be any particular system with regards to the distribution of visas, even if you are on the MODL you have to wait the same as everybody else.

 

We were under the impression that we could expect to be there in November 07, but because of this backlog due to the changes, we have now been told it could now take up to May 08.

 

Good luck and keep us all up to speed with how you are going and we will do the same!

[Guest dglamoore]

Some applicants on 115 points, and a SIR visa - may potentially now apply directly for a permanent residence visa by claiming 5 additional points for English

 

 

Nikki

 

 

mmmm don't think your agents has made that one really clear - if you have the 115 without counting the 10 points from sponsorship you could do this but if you have the 115 including the 10 from sponsership you could not as you would drop back to 105 without these so would not have enough

 

Hope that makes sense - not had my morning coffee yet

 

Lisa:v_SPIN:

[carla&trev]

Hi Cormcvcr

 

Don't worry - they go on the date it was received on so if you have a date stamp of 31st August or before then you will fall under the old rules, which you will because you posted in July - unless it went the wrong way round the world - twice!!! Me, on the other hand, posted on 24th August and I haven't received my receipt from the post office yet to say it has been received! DOH!!!! Will prob have to apply again under the new rulings!

 

Carla

[Guest nikkiandlee]

HI Lisa,

 

This was only an snippet out of a very long generic e-mail that our agents sent, didn't really apply to us as i have about 130 points anyhow. thanks for pointing it out though as it makes things a little clearer

 

Nikki

[Guest soggy]

Hi Cormcvcr

 

Don't worry - they go on the date it was received on so if you have a date stamp of 31st August or before then you will fall under the old rules, which you will because you posted in July - unless it went the wrong way round the world - twice!!! Me, on the other hand, posted on 24th August and I haven't received my receipt from the post office yet to say it has been received! DOH!!!! Will prob have to apply again under the new rulings!

 

Carla

Receipt from the post office, ive never had one yet , I first heard via email from diac, it only took 6 days so you may be in luck.

 

Simon

[Guest chillyanna]

well what a thread i started here, never thought it would get this much interest:D.

 

when i was finishing putting my TRA together i was starting to panic if i could make the "deadline" thinking the worst because im not the luckiest of people! the TRA was submitted AUG 15. but as i see it it has to be the visa before SEPT 01. i dont think i would have made the deadline anyway.

 

so i emailed my agent and she told me not to worry because i have enough points and i wont have to do the IELTS test for extra points. PHEW:wideeyed: this how my points were made up

 

Dear Paul You shouldn't need to do the English test.

 

After 1/9, your points will be Skill-60, occupation on MODL-15, Age-25,

English-15 (this is automatic for UK passport holders), and 10 for Specific

Work Experience - a total of 125. As the pass mark is 120, you pass without

higher English marks.

 

 

so that got me wondering how many other people were thinking/feeling the same, seems like a lot of us!

good luck to all that are fighting for every point, hope you make it

all the best

paul

[Guest Trakki]

I worked out my points last night and I too got 125, glad your agents said about getting 15 points for hving a passport, this is how I interpreted it so at least I know I was right.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Tracey

[ianb]

Hi Soggy

 

 

Don't tell anyone but I come from Sheppey Lee and I went to school on the Island, I don't have webbed feet honestly

 

Nikki

 

 

Now we know why!!

 

Nothing wrong with Sheppey!