coolerkingcooler

Sorry, only anecdotal but our agent told us that state nominated (cannot remember if employer sponsored was mentioned but don't think so) could be processed in a day. Also, they have had an increase in state nominated applications (used to be about 7%).

Cooler

man_called_Horse

Employer sponsored is not processed at ASPC.

State/Territory Nominated sponsorship is expected to be 7% (See attached) for the program year there could be an increase/Spike, but maybe not since the state occupation's lists have been reduced there would be less occupations for applicants to choose from.

To get State/Territory Nominated Sponsorship (STNS) is a process on it's own which usually takes 30 Days, if there is a sudden increase in these applications it is unlikely for staff to achieve this especially this time of year when a lot of people are still on their holidays (yes it is summer in Australia).

But yeah I would be expecting a lot of people to be seeking STNS in order to get priority but its going take maybe 2 months before you see the effect.

Anyone who maybe only has 100 points must be spewing cos there would be a lot of 120+ pointers now applying for STNS to gain priority when the did not require it before.

fifty_pence

For people who've already lodged their 175 application say before November 08, seeking a state sponsership now, won't necessarily mean they'll get their visas any sooner than they would if they stuck to 175. Even if it does, it wouldn't be much of a difference so you have to ask yourself - is it worth the hassle?

1. It'd take you a minimum of 4-6 weeks just to get your sponsership - and thats DISCOUNTING all the time it'd take for you to get your stuff together to lodge a valid sponsership application.

2. For people who haven't employed an agent - I don't think it'd be a good idea to explore the subclass 'conversion' process by themselves. So employing an agent just for this could well be anywhere around £200-£350. And not employing one would mean quite a few hard hours of work going through the litreture and talking to people to figure out and gather all the info/documentation you'll need.

3. For the ones with agents on board already, this would mean additional paperwork - which means there is a possibility they may be required to pay more.

4. It's quite likely that your occupation may not be on the wanted list of your preferred state - which would mean you may have to settle for second best or whatever's available, just to GET THERE SOONER. I don't think its a good idea to risk spending 2 years of your life regretting your decision to GET THERE SOONER, in case it doesn't work out and you keep thinking things would of been different in 'Sydney' or wherever.

So people, say NO to 176!! It's okay if you have to wait an extra couple of months or so. Most people usually don't pack their stuff and roll the very next day after they get their visa anyway. The norm is 3 months. So yeah, your cool there. Just let the State Sponsered folk get there first and make it a better country for you all to be moving to. You should feel privilaged knowing that your going to be moving to a country with better resources than it was before the State Sponsered folk got there.. And half of them have 'provisional' visas which makes them ineligible for QUITE A FEW jobs. In fact, MOST employers (in Sydney) who employ people on salaries rather than hourly wages, have a policy to only hire people who are Aussie citizens or residents.