175 Visa - what's the scoop?!

[Guest MarK Jowett]

Hi guys

 

Well, my problems continue. I've decided not to give up even though my occupation went to planning levels met (sys admin). So i've applied to ACS for a re-assessment as a Sys Analyst. Annoyingly, this occupation has now gone down to MEDIUM availability for SA, and we all know what that means.

 

Luckily, Sys Analyst is an occupation on the 175 GSM list, which means I can apply direct for a 175 visa. The thing is i'm a bit wary of this as nobody seems to be going for 175's? Is that because there's something nasty involved or is it because most people don't have the points or their occupation isn't listed?

 

If I get a successful re-assessment, then I've added up my points for a 175 and I get 80 which is plenty - so does anyone think I'll have any problems getting this visa which I wouldn't have encountered going for the 176? I'm guessing not from what i've read on the DIAC website, but thought i'd ask you lovely people in case any of you know something I don't!

 

Thanks

 

Mark

[Guest Helchops]

Hey Mark!!

 

Glad to hear you're still fighting on!

 

We were going to go down the 175 route all along, until we found SS through South Australia; it was always a toss up between Perth and Adelaide, and so if South Australia were willing to sponsor us, we are more than happy to live and pay our taxes there.

 

I guess the main difference is waiting...the allocation dates for 175 versus 176 are found here.

 

There are no other obstacles as far as I can see, and as I mentioned, it's the route we were going to take!

[Guest oidara]

I agree with Helchops. I haven't come across any negatives to the 175 apart from the fact that the processing time is a lot longer. As we're all so impatient to get over there, I guess that's why the 175 is so unappealing! But if you're happy to take your time, then I don't see it being a problem provided - as I know you know - that you get your application in before next July.

 

Anyway, fingers crossed that Sys Admin going to medium isn't as bad as you fear. Since our occupation also went off-list, I have been obsessively tracking what happens to the other occupations. Going to medium isn't necessarily the death knell for that occupation. ICT Sales Rep has been at Medium since 30 September, for example, as has General Medical Practitioner. Some occupations even hang on at Low for ages, such as Engineering Professional (14 working days and counting). I'm such a geek! And yet it's my husband who's the IT bod...

 

Also, a lot of the professions that went rapidly off list are either very generic (Software Engineer, Civil Engineer - the most obvious and therefore first occupation anyone in those fields may opt for when having a skills assessment) or they're not on SOL1, as was the case with Sys Admin. It stands to reason that the non-SOL occupations will go off-list faster as those people can't apply via the normal 175 route. The occupations on the main SOL may have more staying power as people with those occupations might not even have thought of state sponsorship or might not like the idea of being tied to one state.

 

Plus DIAC states a 12 month processing time for 176s as compared to 18 months for 175s, which isn't a big enough difference to lure most people time-wise, especially when factoring in the wait for SS. I was even advised by a migration lawyer that it probably wouldn't speed things up much. But thanks to this website and the wonderful SS Tracker, we all know differently and know SA are super fast at processing SS applications at the moment!

 

So, all of those things considered, it ain't over yet! And ACS were really fast at processing our second skills assessment so hopefully you'll find the same. Even if you do miss out, there's still the 175 to fall back on. She'll be right! ;-)

[minty]

As per all of the above the 175 is the go anywhere do anything visa but the processing time is a lot longer. That's why people try to get state sponsorship to to get the176 to speed things up.

[Guest MarK Jowett]

Thanks for the info guys, but i'm confused still. Helchops - that link you sent me - it makes no sense to me - How can i tell how long a 175 will take to process compared to a 176?! And are these times realistic given how quickly people seem to get their visas on average anyway? Is there anyone who's got a 175 this year and can give an indication of how long it takes?

[Guest Becster19]

Thanks for the info guys, but i'm confused still. Helchops - that link you sent me - it makes no sense to me - How can i tell how long a 175 will take to process compared to a 176?! And are these times realistic given how quickly people seem to get their visas on average anyway? Is there anyone who's got a 175 this year and can give an indication of how long it takes?

 

Hi Mark, we applied for a 175 visa in July of this year as Im a secondary school teacher and states are only sponsoring Maths, Engineering, Science and Technology and unfortionately those are not my subjects. Due to all the changes last year and people holding out for the new state sponsership lists, the processing times for the 175 have decreased dramatically at the moment. My agent contacts me every 6 weeks to inform me where they are up to with regards to processing and allocating case officers and as per last week, people who lodged in early 2011 on the 175 were being allocated case officers. This is very quick and my agent has informed me she has had a number of 175 visa applications turned around in around 9 months. Im not sure how long this will continue and it may slow down or speed up once they get to the July time when all the people with the new points lodged. I think there were a few like me who held out for the 1st of July as we were better off under the new system. The 175 was taking about 18-24 months, so now seems to be a good time to lodge! Hope all this makes sense!!

[Guest MarK Jowett]

Thanks Becster, that is very reassurring. Do you have a CO as yet?

[Guest Becster19]

No not yet. We predict if things keep moving at the current speed to be getting to that point March ish next year. We might be delayed a bit as I am now pregnant which will delay the medicals but as I'm due in April the delay should be small if at all. We are lucky as once the visa comes in, we can just pack up and go so we don't mind the wait. The good thing about the 175 is the freedom to go where you like. Although we always wanted Adelaide having lived there before, once the visa comes in and we start job hunting, if something great comes up somewhere else, we can take the leap and try something new for a while. Adelaide will always be there.