Getting the Application Underway

Good day everyone. Today we describe the application process and give you a general idea on the timeline involved.

So with our hearts and minds re-calibrated toward moving to Australia we started with the difficult task of finding a migration agent. Our first encounter was with an agent located in Chinatown. We had found the list of registered agents on www.mara.gov.au and randomly picked this agent to familiarise ourselves with the application process. Unfortunately, this didn't turn out too well as the agency staff didn't give us the confidence in a long term relationship. As the process was going to span almost 2 years, it was important to feel comfortable with our immigration agent. However, this particular agent spent more time making unnecessary references to awards and accolades received by the agency instead of focusing on explaining to us the entire process. 

Thankfully, we were then referred to another immigration agent by a friend. This agent (lets just call him John) was also registered with MARA and we met up with him in June 2014. The meet up was in an informal setting at a cafe and our discussion was easy. John was concise with his sharing of what was to be expected in the months to come. He gave us an estimated timeline and also advised that, based on years of work experience, my wife stood a better chance to secure the residency. After our meet up, we confirmed our intent to apply and continued to correspond with John via email.  

The next step would span months as we collated and submit our documents as requested by him. One good thing with John was that everything was done via email. There was no need to meet up with him or go to his office. He also crafted our job scope to meet the Skills Assessment. This crafting of job scope is vital to be successful in your application. Basically, this is where the tact of the agent comes in to sculpt your current job profile into one that fits a job in demand in Australia. 

Meanwhile, my poor wife spent hours studying for her IELTS exam (which is needed as a proof of your English language ability) while I sat on my couch sipping beers and giving her pats on her back. In Dec 2014, John told us that our skills assessment had been successful and that we had to wait for openings in the various states for sponsorship. Under the skilled migration visa (subclass 190), you basically put up your skills with the the Australian Immigration Authority who then opens it to all states. States will then look at your job profile and decide if they need you in their state. If they do, they would offer you an invitation to express your interest in their state.

Eventually, Northern Territory (NT) invited us to submit our Expression of Interest (EOI). It caught us by surprise as we were expecting states like Western Australia, New South Wales or Victoria to get back to us. We had never been to the NT and no clue whatsoever as to what to expect.

However, as part of the EOI, we had to submit a Commitment Statement. This document was a good means for us to do some homework about NT and also served to show the Immigration Authority that we were clear of what to expect and that we had good reasons to want to spend the next few years of our lives there. So we embarked on the task of doing up our Commitment Statement. Two weeks later, we  submitted our EOI and Commitment Statement. It was then the anxiousness set in and nervous nail-biting episodes began as we sat and waited in hope of good news. 

Thankfully, John got back to us within two months and told us that our EOI had been picked up by an Immigration representative and that we were asked to fill in a detailed immigration form which would finalise our intent to apply for the visa. John also told us that we had been offered a visa sub-class 489 instead of visa sub-class 190. What this meant was that we had to live and work in the NT for 2 years before we get a PR. We were agreeable and went ahead with the application. 6 weeks later, we received requests to obtain our police clearance and health checks. This took another two weeks before we submitted our final set of documents in early Oct 2015. Then it was just another waiting game to receive our finalized visas. And another 6 weeks, later we got the good news that our visas had been granted. Pure bliss.