ab a

Hi,

I am thinking about applying for subclass 190. I think I get 55 points:

30 because of my age
15 my bachelor degree
10 ielts (scored 7.5 in reading so I take it i can only claim 10 points).

I already have my skills assessed as a civil engineer.

I am thinking about applying for 190 which will give me another 5 points. However Im also planning on taking ielts again in mid august to see if i can score 8 in all parts this time.

My first question is: say I apply for 190 and am invited but then get my IELTS and decide to apply for 189 subclass, would it be possible to turn down state invitation and go for 189? I heard that once you are invited by a state then that is locked against your EOI number and only way would be to cancel your EOI!!
If it is possible then I would apply for 190 and even if i get an invite i will wait until i get my IELTS results in September before lodging application.
I am thinking about applying for sponsorship from NSW, SA, Victoria. Not so keen on ACT or NT . I know WA require minimum 3 years experience for sponsorship (and I think civil engineering is under review anyway) but what about other states? My understanding is that NSW doesn't have any specific requirements for civil engineers. Am I right? Although when I checked applications through NSW was closed the same day so I'd have to wait for next round. NSW would be my preferred state.
Does anyone know based on my circumstances(7 in all ielts parts and 2 years experience, although this is not assessed!) if I could get sponsored by say Victoria or even SA?

Second main question: my wife is from these so called high risk countries, does anyone know how long my application would be delayed if I include her too? If it will delay it by a lot then I was thinking of getting my visa, find a job in Aus (as I would move immediately after getting visa) and then apply for her to join me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ab

old.sparkles

Different states have different criteria and different ways of selecting applicants. The only way is to check the different states to see if you meet their requirements. If you intend to apply to Victoria, then you shouldn't select any other states as Victoria want to see that you are committed to the state.

If you apply for the 190 and are invited to apply, you would not be able to alter your EOI until the application is either made or lapses. From invitation this would be 60 days I think.

Pollyana

Even if your wife is not moving with you, you will need to declare her as your spouse on the application. She would then need to supply police checks and medicals even as a non-migrating spouse.

ab a

Thank you very much for your replies.

I didnt know you had to provide police and medical checks for your spouse if they're not immigrating with you! As far as I am aware this is the part that takes longest for nationals of the high risk countries!

As far as I can tell state of Victoria requires two years experience for civil engineers, which I have but this was not assessed as part of my skills assessment. Do you know if 2 years also need to have been assessed?
Also I thought you could choose more than one state for nominations? I heard you could choose to be nominated by all states if you wanted to.
If this is the case then I might as well wait until September when I get my results from my second attempt at IELTS!

old.sparkles

You can choose every state if you want to - but not every state will want to choose you in that case. You also need to make an application to each state that you have chosen to see if they will sponsor you. In some cases there is a charge for this. NSW have a new way of allowing applications which is currently closed - and WA will invite you to apply for sponsorship if they like your EOI. Not sure how long it is currently taking to get an answer from a state - but I would allow a couple of months if you do go this route.

ab a

So you are saying if I choose 2 states then each state will think I am not committed to them. You should be allowed to have preferences, if you're outside Australia then no reason you shouldn't be able to consider living in either Melbourne or Sydney.

Anyhow, do you know roughly how long it will take to process high risk country nationals?
Also what about if you visited high risk countries yourself? I've been to about a dozen high risk countries, most in my gap year (south america and south-east asia) and a few holidays. Does that mean I too will have to provide police check for every one of those countries? That will take forever!

old.sparkles

State sponsored visas usually process quicker - Skilled Migration Visa Processing Times - but is not quoting separate times for high risk countries. But these are guidelines only - they aim to process 75% in this time frame.

As for police checks, you will need to provide a check from any country you have spent a total of 12 months or more in, in the last 10 years since turning 16. Information is in the document checklist information, under visa applicants section - Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)

Pollyana

If a State is going to pay money to sponsor you, it wants to be sure you are committed to living there. BE posters n the past have reported rejections due to not showing enough commitment, after applying to two or three States.

No-one can tell you how long a high risk (or even low risk) country will take to do checks. It is up to that country, and out of the control of DIBP

Read the info on character checks, You need to provide a pcc for any country in which you have lived in for 12 months or more, over the last 10 years, since turning 16 years of age.

http://www.immi.gov.au/Help/Pages/ch...uirements.aspx

ab a

Thanks.
Totaling 12 months in past 10 years, i wonder how they check that! I take it they ask for photocopies of passport pages. I recently got a new passport. Either way, thankfully, i never lived in any of those countries for more than 12 months.

If there is a possibility of getting rejected because I choose to apply for two states then that changes a few things. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. I think the best thing is to wait until I get my IELTS results in September.

old.sparkles

You could apply to one state whilst you wait for your next IELTS - just in case.

You need to tell DIBP the dates you visited other countries as part of the application - I'm not sure if it is something they check as part of the security checks.

ab a

I am considering applying to Victoria, I think I will contact them to ask them how they will assess min 2 years experience because my experience is not assessed by engineers Australia. Slight problem with that is if I am invited (I know it is a big if) while waiting for next IELTS results then I wouldn't be able to apply for 189 even if I get band 8 in all parts of IELTS.

About the security checks: my old passport is full of visas and entry stamps. Because of my dad's job we moved a lot so I've been to places like Libya, Oman, Angola and Afghanistan. I also went on gap year to places like Argentina, Mexico, Vietnam etc I don't know how I can provide police checks for all those countries. Afghanistan isn't even on the list of countries which DIBP want applicants to provide police checks for. I haven't lived in any of those countries for longer than a few months at most.
Did you have to provide police checks for each country you visited? I dont know how they are going to find out because my new passport only has entry stamp from morocco!

old.sparkles

You only provide a police check from a country you have spent a total of 12 months in in the last 10 years. If you haven't spent 12 months in that country you do not need to provide a police check.

If you don't want to apply for state sponsorship, then don't. The decision is entirely yours and if you want to apply for a 189, why did you bring up applying for a 190

ab a

I appreciate your advice. It was one of the options I was and still am considering, like my original question said I wondered whether it would be possible to turn down state invitation after I get my second ielts results. I'd heard once a state decides to sponsor you then your EOI number is locked and the only way to apply for 189 would be to cancel your EOI and apply again (but you are only allowed to apply for EOI twice in your lifetime). So I wanted to know whether I could treat 190 as a safety net sort of thing. I would still be committed to the state nonetheless but obviously 189 has more flexibility.
I think from what you are saying I either have to wait for my ielts in september or decide to go for 190.
Second Q was about police checks and you've also answered my question there so thanks.

Hellomaggie

Try looking for Queensland State Sponsorship and figure out what will be your luck in that state for 190. That state is for engineering and medical professionals. There are 3 fields of civil engineering open geodetic, quantity surveyor ang another which i forgot but look at it.

ab a

Thanks, I was actually considering Queensland but I dont think civil engineering is on their list, it was on last years list but is not on this years. I am not quantity surveyor or geodetic I think they are more specialist field I am a civil design engineer.