Safin

Just a few questions so we know what to expect and to plan work/school around. I know about going offshore to have a 175/6 granted. BUT

Is this a computer exercise so you just come back in with passport as was but "the computer knows" you now have a PR granted and they let you in. This is what happened with our 457) With a label to be stuck inpassport sometime after arrival

OR

Do you have to go somewhere where they can actually stick a label into your passport whilst offshore?


If you need to actually visit a building which sort is it? Embassy/ consulate etc? Is there a list somewhere of where these are so we can decide where to head to and investigate costs accomodation whilst awaiting pre-grant letter.

Finally how long will you need to be offshore for?

elmao

we had same question about needing to get the sticker or not and got this reply (in Aug 2008) from DIAC:

"Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your e-mail about your visa application under Australia’s
General Skilled Migration programme.

In our visa grant letters we recommend visa holders have their visas
evidenced in their passport before entry to Australia by an Australian
mission overseas. However, the Migration (1994) Regulations themselves do
not require a visa to be evidenced before arrival in Australia.

If you wish, once you have a visa grant letter, simply approach the
airline check-in counter for your return journey and present the visa
grant letter and the passports for those listed in the letter. The airline
staff will then contact the Department’s Entry Operations Centre in
Canberra to confirm the visa details and permit your uplift to Australia.
Upon arrival in Australia a Departmental official will remind you of the
visa grant(s) and advise you to approach any Immigration office in
Australia to have the visa labels endorsed in your passport(s).
"

And the grant letter we got via email when we had departed Australia said:

"Evidence of your visa
It is recommended that all visa holders obtain evidence of their visa in their
current passport. They can have evidence of their visa placed into their
passport at any of the department’s offshore offices with visa evidencing
facilities. Details of addresses and opening times for these overseas
offices can be found at - http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/overseas/index.htm
Please note that a copy of this letter is sufficient for visa evidencing purposes.
IMPORTANT - Visa holders should allow at least five working days after presenting their
passport to a departmental office for the evidencing process to be completed.
"

We did not bother to get the sticker until we got back to Melbourne, as it was cheaper to fly with Jetstar to Christchurch in NZ than to any of the cities with visa printing facilities. We had no trouble at all getting back into Australia.

Re: where are the consulates you can go to/ how long to you have to be outside Australia, here's the quote from the DIAC pre-grant letter (also received by email):

"
Requirement to depart Australia
Your visas cannot be granted while you are in Australia.
All migrating applicants must be outside Australia, at the same time, to
enable visa grant.
Applicants, who are currently in Australia, must now provide details of their
travel itinerary including the date of departure from Australia, at least a
week in advance of their departure. Departure and itinerary details including
flight number, destination, date and time should be emailed to -
[email protected].
After departure from Australia, please allow at least 3 working days before
approaching the Australian overseas mission to have visas evidenced in your
passport, to allow time for the electronic transfer of visa data to that mission.
Details of the department's overseas missions
may be found here: http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/overseas/index.htm
It may then take at least 5 working days for the evidencing process to be
finalised, depending on the processing priorities at the overseas mission. If
you are unable to go to the Australian overseas mission in person, you should
check with the mission for other arrangements.
When you have provided your travel itinerary, you will not hear from the GSM
Adelaide office until after the visas have been granted. When approaching
the overseas mission, please take a copy of this letter for verification. If
travel plans are changed, please advise the GSM Adelaide office
immediately."

The best of luck with all the planning :-)

Safin

Thank you that answers some questions.

It seems that they don't mention how long after leaving Oz the grant takes - just that you shoudl wait 3 days before approaching a mission. I assume that means don't return in those 3 days. And make sure you can print off your grant email before you return!

elmao

Yes, probably the 3 days requirment is to make it highly probably that during one of those three days your case officer remembers to send the grant email, and isn't unexpectedly off work or anything :-)

In our case, we had the grant letter in our inbox at 5pm the day we departed Australia (departed on a morning flight).

We'd our return flight booked for 5 days after departure, so just waited it out - Found ourselves a net cafe where we could print out the grant letter, and then enjoyed a few days holiday :-)

Safin

Presumably the same validation date rules exist - ie you have until the 1 year anniversary of meds/PCC whichever is earlier

elmao

that's it exactly :-)

guiguioz

does anyone know if it is possible to validate a 176 visa in Vanuatu (when you are onshore and have been pre-granted for this offshore visa)?

elmao

From the above grant letter quoted it would seem all you have to be is outside Australia! It doesn't specify a list of countries you can or can't go to....

While they recommend you visit an overseas mission to get the sticker in your passport, it is not necessary. The grant letter is sufficient for visa evidencing purposes (it will state this on your grant letter). Therefore, you are not limited to countries with an Australian mission/ embassy.

So you're only requirements really are a country that is
(a) Not Australia
(b) Internet connected and has printers (so you can print out your grant letter to show the check in desk, if asked, at the airport on your return flight)

I think that covers about all countries :-)

elmao

PS the above quotes were from our 176 visa (granted Aug 2008).

However the same applies for 175 visas and most other similar visas as I found from my trawling though the legalese of the migration act before I got the confirmation from DIAC by email quoted above.

nicrock

I'm really confused with the 175 visa at the moment. We are in Australia on the WHV which expires June 13th. We are looking to have my OH welding skills assessed so he can be awarded a Cert III to enable us to apply for a 175 visa whilst in Oz.

I know we will have to leave the country a mentioned above for the visa to be granted. However, are we legally allowed to work full time in Australia whilst the visa is being processed? I was told were not entitled to a bridging visa to allow this and we can't apply for another WHV. Can't afford a student visa either.

We have the option of the 487 visa but again are we allowed to work in Oz whilst this is being considered?

I'm getting so confused with it all

newjersey

I am not a big expert on the WHV, but from what I remember, you can not get this bridged to a permanent visa that you are looking for, i.e. you are going to have to leave the country when it expires and wait for the process to finish overseas. Going illegal kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing, innit? One other thing, WHV can be extended (if you have not already done so) into another year in certain cases, such as working in rural areas doing fruit picking for three months.
Hope this helps,
NJ

auzsci

So, is it OK to be in Australia on a working holiday visa while you apply for a 175/176? Then leave when you get the email about the grant, get your passports stamped in another country and return with your new visa?

jpen29

Hi Guys. I just got my pre-grant letter the other day requiring me to depart Australia to enable visa grant. The Intitial entry date given to me is 30 Mar 2010.

From my understanding, the initial entry date is the deadline for me to depart and also go back to Australia to activate my visa. So I am intending to go out sometime in November or December because I dont think it will be possible for me to depart earlier than that due to work commitments.

Could somebody please tell me if my understanding is correct or wrong? Is there a rule or legislation that I am now aware of which requires me to depart within 1-4 months from receipt of pre-grant letter?

Thanks.

Safin

We were planning on delaying our departure too, due to work commitments etc and had even bought flights for June. Then we were advised that whilst it was fine as things stood right now further changes may affect the ability to grant the visa when we finally went offshore - eg further cuts to numbers or other changes.

We decided after a long hard batttle to get the visa there was no way we were going to risk losing it at the final hurdle.

So we booked more flights and went! It only means a few days off work better than maybe losing the visa IMO

JAJ

That is very good advice in these times of changing immigration priorities and cuts to numbers migrating.

If you have a pre-grant letter and want the visa, go and get it. Almost everything else in your life/work schedule should take lower priority.

Also bear in mind that any changes in circumstances before you validate your PR visa, such as someone in the family becoming sick, could mean cancellation of your pre-grant.