Family Sponsorship?

[Guest TheMacs]

Hi

 

We were aiming for state sponsorship and have a pass on Skills Assessment 263113 (Systems Administrator) however the lists are not currently open for systems admins so we have to wait.

 

I have an Aunt (retired, in NSW) and a cousin (working in Sydney) who are both happy to sponsor us, do we have any chance? Can a retired person sponsor us? Can a cousin?

 

Interested in hearing from anyone who has been through this process. Is it very invasive on the relative who sponsors us?

 

Thanks!

 

The Macs

[Gollywobbler]

Hi

 

We were aiming for state sponsorship and have a pass on Skills Assessment 263113 (Systems Administrator) however the lists are not currently open for systems admins so we have to wait.

 

I have an Aunt (retired, in NSW) and a cousin (working in Sydney) who are both happy to sponsor us, do we have any chance? Can a retired person sponsor us? Can a cousin?

 

Interested in hearing from anyone who has been through this process. Is it very invasive on the relative who sponsors us?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi the

 

The Macs

 

Your cousin cannot sponsor you for a sc 176 visa. Your retired Aunt could do so:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/176/eligibility-state-terr-rel-spon-02.htm

 

The thing with a family sponsor is that the sponsor undertakes to provide basic shelter, food, clothing etc if the sponsored family members fall on hard times during their first 2 years in Australia. This is because the new migrants are very unlikely to be able to claim any Benefits from Centrelink during their first two years.

 

The Sponsor is not actually means-tested. However if your Aunt is 99, the Case Officer would (or should) query whether it is realistic for such an elderly lady to try to shoulder the potential responsibilities of sponsoring you. This sort of query is not intended to be hostile - the CO would merely be trying to protect everybody by making sure that all of them really understand what they are proposing to do. It is too late to complain after the visa has been granted, so the time to make sure that the family understands the sponsor's obligations is whilst the visa application is being processed.

 

So if your Aunt is very old, I would expect a query from your CO but at the same time, the CO will keep a sense of proportion because the main applicant for the sc 176 visa is also a highly skilled person, whose skills have been assessed and the Government has decided that his/her skills are needed, ergo the main applicant ought to be able to get a job without too much hassle and so forth.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest TheMacs]

Thanks for your excellent reply. You sound like you know your stuff! My aunt is 67 so we should be good. Would you know if there are any limitations to where you can live/work under family sponsorship; ie would you have to live in the same state? Thanks again for your advice!

[Gollywobbler]

Thanks for your excellent reply. You sound like you know your stuff! My aunt is 67 so we should be good. Would you know if there are any limitations to where you can live/work under family sponsorship; ie would you have to live in the same state? Thanks again for your advice!

 

Hi TheMacs

 

You do not have to live in the same State as your Sponsor. You can live anywhere you like on a sc 176 visa.

 

Clearly, your Aunt's age is unlikely to cause any problems! On the Sponsorship form, they do ask how many bedrooms are in the Sponsor's house etc - again, it is not realistic for someone who lives in a bedsit to sponsor a family of 4. Please have a read of Form 1277, below so that you are sure about it all:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1277.pdf

 

Please have a look at the Clients Service Charter as well:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/about/charters/client-services-charter/standards/

 

It is quicker to process a State sponsored sc 176 application than a Family sponsored one though I can't remember the exact timelines and anyway DIAC alter the promised timelines every few months! As against that, if it were me, I would run with a Family sponsor if the alternative would be to hang around until after 1st July 2012, only to have to get involved with the Expression of Interest idea.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest paultozer]

TheMacs, I'm sure that 263113 (Systems Administrator) is on the list for NSW.

 

http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/5788/STNI-Update-List-of-Occupations-22.09.11.pdf

 

Have you thought of going through this route

[Guest zidden]

Correct me if I'm wrong but does the family sponsorship on really make a difference to a 457 visa now and not the 176.

[Guest guest8040]

I've been told family sponsorship just doesn't exist now??? We're going SS 176 because of this, despite having an 2 aunts, an uncle and cousin that are citizens

[Gollywobbler]

Correct me if I'm wrong but does the family sponsorship on really make a difference to a 457 visa now and not the 176.

 

Hi zidden

 

The sc 457 visa is a temporary, employer sponsored visa. Were you referring to the sc 475 visa instead, please?

 

This particular thread was started by a family who are facing a particular problem with the possibility of securing State sponsorship for a sc 176 prior to the looming deadline of 30th June 2012. If there is going to be a problem with getting SS then using a Family sponsor instead makes sense in their own case.

 

In terms of the Points total, having a family sponsor in Regional Oz can now be attractive for the sc 475 visa but that is not the issue facing the people who started this thread.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Gollywobbler]

I've been told family sponsorship just doesn't exist now??? We're going SS 176 because of this, despite having an 2 aunts, an uncle and cousin that are citizens

 

 

 

Hi thewhitehouse

 

The sc 176 visa can still be Family sponsored. However, it is preferable to go for State sponsorship where possible.

 

The people who started this thread are in an awkward situation because they may not be able to secure State sponsorship in time to be able to submit their sc 176 application prior to 1st July 2012. Because of the risk that they may not be able to secure SS in time, it makes sense for them to get a Family sponsor lined up as well/instead, so that if they run out of time with trying to get State Sponsorship, they will still be able to apply for a sc 176 visa before 30th June 2012.

 

It sounds as if your own situation is probably substantially different from theirs?

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest guest8040]

It is I'm just gobsmacked you can be family sponsored as I thought this was no longer possible! Thanks anyway

[Gollywobbler]

It is I'm just gobsmacked you can be family sponsored as I thought this was no longer possible! Thanks anyway

 

Hi there

 

It is certainly possible - as shown on the DIAC website. Please see the link below:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/176/

 

It is preferable to get State sponsorship if possible. There is no doubt about that.

 

However, if there is any doubt about whether the applicant can get SS plus make a visa application prior to 30/06/2012 but there is a possibility of a Family sponsor instead, it makes sense to get the Family sponsor lined up and ready to roll just in case State sponsorship cannot be secured in time.

 

The Australian Government's Financial Year ends on 30th June each year. From 1st July 2012, they intend to introduce an Expression of Interest system with GSM visas. To avoid having to go down the EOI route, we will see a flurry of last minute sc 176 applications made, where the applicant uses a Family sponsor because there is no time left to do anything else. I certainly wouldn't advise anybody just to give up and resign themselves to the new EOI process if a Family sponsor could enable submission of a valid application for an sc 176 prior to the end of the current Financial Year.

 

At the moment, the Government is not sanguine about GSM applicants who use Family sponsors. DIAC did some research about the whole thing 2-3 years ago and concluded that:-

 

1. People who have used a Family sponsor are less likely to ditch Australia and return home. Part of the intention of the Immigration policy is to boost the economy by encouraging migration, so someone who is able to settle happily and successfully is a "successful migrant" from the Govt point of view. That is, s/he will stay in Oz and pay taxes, any children will become the next generation of tax payers etc.

 

2. BUT - the research also showed that new migrants with Family sponsors tend to make a bee line for the place where the Sponsor is living rather than heading for the place that actually needs the new migrant's skills. Consequently, the new migrant often doesn't continue to work in the occupation that secured the GSM visa in the first place - instead, the new migrant just grabs whatever work is available in the area close to where s/he and the Family sponsor have all chosen to settle. This makes for "successful immigration" in one sense but it doesn't help to solve Australia's skills shortage. Also it causes the local Aussies to grumble that jobs that they could have done are being pinched by immigrant workers and so on.

 

The research therefore produced conflicting results and the Government decided to focus on the skills shortage and hope for the best with the rest, as it were.

 

There is a paper about all this, kicking around somewhere and it can be found via the DIAC website somewhere. It is also discussed briefly in one of DIAC's Annual Reports.

 

This research is the main reason for the recent emphasis on State sponsorship but no Immigration system is ever going to be perfect, so there will be a flurry of last minute sc 176 applicants who are relying on Family sponsors, I predict.

 

Cheers

 

Gill