A very commonly asked question.

How long to validate your visa?
- Permanent visas granted offshore normally have a 'first entry date'. ALL family members must enter Australia by this date.

- The main applicant must enter Australia first (or at the same time as the rest of the family). The others must enter Australia after the main applicant and before the 'first entry date'. This is known as 'validating' the visa.

- The 'first entry date' is normally around 12 months from the earliest date of police checks and medicals. Some people get less than that if medicals have a lesser validity - 6 months is not unknown.

- 'First entry date' cannot be changed after your visa is granted. If there is a problem meeting this date after visa has been granted, you must seek urgent professional advice to liaise with DIMIA so they do not cancel your visas. Only in exceptional circumstances will you be able to keep your visa if you do not respect the 'first entry date'.

- It is quite acceptable to validate a visa with a holiday in Australia.

How long to make the 'proper' move?
- The visa is valid for 5 years from the date of grant (NOT the date the visa is stamped or validated)

- You are expected to be in Australia for a total of 2 years (730 days) in this 5 year period.

- This is so that you easily qualify for a Resident Return Visa (RRV) after the 5 years is up. You will need an RRV to re-enter Australia as a PR if you are not an Australian citizen.

- If you do not meet this requirement but are inside Australia on the expiry date of the visa (5 years hence) the visa does not expire until the moment you set foot outside Australia for any reason.

- Hence if you are living in Australia at the end of the 5 year period you will probably not lose your PR but you will face hassle in getting an RRV.

- In order to keep life simple, make sure you move to Australia no later than 3 years from visa grant. This ensures you will have the 2 years in Australia required to get an RRV 'no questions asked' at the end of the 5 year period.

- Form 968i is an essential resource to understand the RRV rules. Bear in mind these can change anytime.
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/968i.pdf

- Becoming an Australian citizen is the only way to fully secure your status in Australia. Australian citizens do not require RRVs.
In general, permanent residents can apply for Australian citizenship after 2 years in Australia as a PR.
http://www.citizenship.gov.au


Note. If you have a temporary visa (eg temporary spouse, most business skill visas, SIR or a 457) then there will be different rules. Permanent business visas and employer nominated permanent visas have special obligations which must be adhered to in addition to the points below.

Jeremy

Yes it will likely be a problem regarding citizenship. She will most likely have to wait until she has lived in Australia for 2 years before becoming eligible.

And if she stays away too long (beyond the re-entry date on her visa), she won't even be allowed back into Australia as a resident, unless she can get an RRV. Not necessarily easy if living outside Australia.

Jeremy

Mark,

I presume your daughter is going to be over 18 when that happens (applying for citizenship). If so, she will not qualify for citizenship if she has been a permanent resident in Australia for less than 2 years in the last five years.

Peter

In fact children over 16 (not 18) are assessed independently for Australian citizenship. Where the child is under 16, DIMIA usually expect to see at least one parent who is Australian or becoming Australian.

Jeremy

Jeremy

Agreed. I mentioned 18 as I assumed it was university the original poster's daughter was headed.

Peter

Read the Skilled Migration Booklet on dependency. Anything under 18 (when visa application is decided) is ok provided one is single and not engaged or in a de-facto relationship.

This thread is closed now as it's gone off-topic.

Jeremy

Restrictions on a 457 visa vs permanent residence

1. You can only work for your sponsoring employer. You are forbidden to have any secondary employment. If you are laid off, you have 28 days to find a new employer (plus sponsor) or leave Australia.
2. School fees in NSW (and possibly some other states - you need to check) - AUD4.5k per child per year
3. The time does not count for Australian citizenship.
4. Children born to you in Australia will not be Australian citizens by birth.
5. Your spouse will have unrestricted work rights but will find it hard to get career-orientated jobs as employers usually prefer citizens/PRs
6. Your children will be treated as "overseas students" if they go to university in Australia. If you are from the UK they may be treated as 'overseas students' back in the UK too unless they meet a 3 year residence requirement, even if British citizens. You need to check this in detail.
7. As your children get older (especially once they turn 18), it may be harder to include them in a permanent visa application. They could end up having to go home once deemed "independent" even if the rest of the family gets permanent residence
8. You will face FIRB restrictions on buying property.
9. No eligibility for Medicare, other than limited reciprocal healthcare schemes for some nationalities. Health insurance will be more expensive.
Once you apply for a PR visa you are normally eligible for Medicare.
10. No entitlement to social security or welfare benefits. This includes benefits paid to mothers of new babies, and things like the first home buyers grant.
11. No automatic entitlement to permanent residence (PR). Bear in mind the usual problem is that the employer won't sponsor for PR. Not can't - won't.
You must also bear in mind that a death, illness or divorce/separation before PR is granted could leave some or all family members in a very difficult visa situation.
12. Some professions and occupations (eg migration agent) are closed to those without permanent residence.
13. You cannot sponsor relatives for permanent residence or sign an Assurance of Support for migration purposes.
14. There is no legal bar on obtaining credit (eg loans, credit cards) but you will likely find it harder to get one without permanent status.

Benefits of the 457:

15. Although in general 457 holders pay the same taxes as Australians (for little or no benefit) there are a few tax breaks available to temporary residents. The most notable one is Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFHA). However this must be negotiated as part of your salary package and is under threat as soon as you apply for a permanent visa. The same goes for the other temporary resident tax exemptions. Most 457 holders (other than those who are expatriates employed by multinationals, who are in a different situation to most) believe that the tax concessions do not compensate for the limited rights they have compared to permanent residents.
Note: Under Government proposals from 1 July 2006, most 457 visa holders will not be assessed for tax on non-Australian source income. However this will only benefit those with significant investments overseas.

16. 457 visa holders are eligible to recover their superannuation (less tax) when they leave Australia.

Hi all,

After a few months of inactivity, I've finally updated the Australian Immigration Frequently Asked Questions:

http://ptlabs.topcities.com/faq0.html

Peter

ADDITIONAL 457 info, from those who have experienced it, is in THIS THREAD

MARA Code of Conduct:http://www.themara.com.au/Online/Default.asp?DeptID=243

MARA - Migration Agents Registration Authority

Just a short note to say that the ASPC told me yesterday that from now on they don't want to see any original documents (apart from the police clearances) since the new policy of returning original documents is going to slow them down. So it's certified copies all the way.

Of course, a case officer may still request original documents as a confirmation, however in all cases you'll be ok with lodging certified copies in the application. Please note that this request would apply to, eg, US degree transcripts, IELTS results, birth certificates, even though you might have many spares, and the basic reason is that it's a hassle for them to locate and return originals.

Please also note that from 1 October registered migration agents are among those authorised to make certified copies. Hopefully this will speed up the process for some.


================================================== ====

Following message from George added 19/09/06

ASPC is now advising that scanned copies of PCCs will also be acceptable. That is, every document you can possibly lodge can be lodged as a scan, and DIMA reserves the right to call for the original. Also, from 1 July next year, it's most likely that all GSM applications will be able to be lodged online.


Cheers,

George Lombard

www.austimmigration.com.au

Hi Cath,

That's the point. Since DIMA can now verify all skills assessments with issuing bodies they don't need the originals. Except police clearances - the jury might still be out on that.

And another interesting development is that they'll accept scanned colour copies or b/w scans of certified copies. The following was included in a request letter we received today from the ASPC:

** Please do NOT send any original documents - ALL documents should be
certified copies only. You can also email me scanned colour copies of
originals, or scanned black and white certified copies.

So my first advice to new clients is going to be: get a scanner.

Cheers,

George Lombard

www.austimmigration.com.au

Hi Ali,

See http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/gener...nges/index.htm - it's really important that you read all this since the rules are changing on 1 September, and some UK citizenswill need to do the IELTS test to reach 25 points for English - might include you.

Cheers,

George Lombard