Current Australian Immigration processing lead time as of June 2007

Latest processing times from the ASPC - If you have any specific questions, please post these in our forums

As of 8 June 2007 the ASPC admin section is processing as follows:

Onshore Applications: receipting applications received on 5 June 2007 and acknowledging applications received on 5 June 2007.

Offshore Applications: receipting applications received on 28 May 2007 and acknowledging applications received on 26 March 2007.

Applicants and representatives who have not authorised e-mail communication will not receive separate advice that the ASPC has received and receipted an application and will receive the standard acknowledgement letter and receipt details in due course.

Please note that any delay in acknowledging an application does not affect the date on which a valid application is recorded as having been received and does not delay processing of the application.

Once an application has been acknowledged a case officer is appointed to assess each application as soon as possible, however, the ASPC receives a large number of applications and you will not be contacted immediately.

Processing and Allocation Information - For the week of 12 June 2007

Applications lodged on or before the dates shown below have been allocated to case officers for further processing.

ONSHORE APPLICATIONS

Student/Graduate

Paper based applications: 8 January 2007 (subclass 880), 20 December 2006 (subclass 881) and 22 December 2006 (subclass 882)

E-lodged (on-line) applications: 2 January 2007 (subclass 880) and 22 December 2006 (subclass 881) and 29 December 2006 (subclass 882)

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR VISA)

Paper based applications: 22 December 2006
E-lodged (on-line) applications: 12 January 2007

New Zealand

All applications: 4 October 2006 (all subclasses)

OFFSHORE APPLICATIONS

All paper based applications for Classes BN, BQ, BR, UX and UZ (subclasses 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 495 and 496)

Priority Applications: 14 September 2006*
Non-Priority Applications: 31 August 2006

*this data includes paper based SIR applications which are processed as part of the priority caseload

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (eSIR visa applications)

E-lodged (on-line) applications: 05 February 2007

Notes

Onshore: means that the visa being applied for can be granted while the applicant is in Australia.

e-lodged: applications lodged on-line have quicker processing times. See: Online Services - General Skilled Migration

SIR visas: All applicants for a Skilled - Independent Regional [SIR] visa receive priority processing.

Offshore: means that the visa being applied for can only be granted when the applicant is outside of Australia.

If a visa application was made more than two weeks before the relevant date shown above and you have not been contacted by a case officer please contact the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre from the web page http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm

Applications eligible for priority processing

1. Applicants whose nominated occupation is on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL)

2. For applicants whose nominated occupation is not on the MODL, applications for any of the following visas are given priority:

a) Skill Matching (Migrant) (Class BR) - Subclass 134 - Skill Matching
b) Skilled - Independent (Migrant) (Class BN) – Subclass 137 - Skilled - state/Territory-nominated Independent
c) Skilled - Australian-sponsored (Migrant) (Class BQ) - Subclass 139 - Skilled - Designated Area Sponsored
d) Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) (Class UX) – Subclass 495 - Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional)
e) Skilled Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) (Class UZ) – Subclass 496 - Skilled Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional)
f) Skilled New Zealand (Residence) visa class (Class DB) - Subclass 863 - Skilled - Onshore Regional-Sponsored New Zealand Citizen
g) Skilled Australian-sponsored Overseas Student (Residence) (Class DE) - Subclass 882 - Skilled Designated Area-sponsored Overseas Student

Eligibility for priority processing does not mean that any processing requirements can be waived.

Offshore Applicants can now initiate Health and Character Checks before being allocated a case officer

The inclusion of health forms on the department’s website means that applicants can reduce the time taken to finalise the application by commencing health and character checking before their application is allocated to a case officer, however, applicants and migration agents should be aware that:
o Applicants are responsible for all costs associated with medical examinations and providing police clearances;
o Health examinations and police clearances have limited validity periods, generally for a period of 12 months;
o If clearances expire before the application is finalised they may be requested again, and must be provided at the applicant’s cost;
o The ASPC may need to undertake other checking in respect of the application that can delay a decision; and
o Undertaking health examinations and providing police clearances does not guarantee an application will be successful.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT:

Applicants are not obliged to undertake these checks now and may wait until receiving a further request from the department.

If any applicant is pregnant - please contact this office for further advice before any person included in the application commences health or character checking.

Non-migrating family members of applicants for a SIR visa should not undertake health and character checking unless specifically requested to do so.

Medical Examinations

Information on health checking requirements and medical forms can be obtained at http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/index.htm Please pay careful attention to the information available on this page including Form 1071i detailing health requirements for permanent entry to Australia. Visa applicants in Australia must contact Health Services Australia (HSA) to arrange a health examination.

Applicants outside of Australia must arrange their health examination with a panel doctor and/or radiologist nominated by the Australian Government. A list of panel doctors and radiologists is at http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/panel-doctors/index.htm

Please note that the panel doctor is required to send all medical results to the Local Clearance Unit in Australia and not give them to applicants or their representatives. Information about the Local Clearance Unit including their address is available at
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/australia/processing-centres/lcu-sydney.htm

Before attending a health examination applicants need to:

1. Print off the required numbers of forms 26 and/or 160 to present to the panel doctor and radiologist; and
2. Complete the “Office use only” box to indicate the visa class applied for (eg subclass 136), the file reference number and / or the ICSE Request ID number on each form.

Finalising Applications

Please note that the information provided above is not about the time it will take to process an application to completion. The time it is expected to take to process a General Skilled Migration visa application to completion is detailed in the department’s service standards. Service standards are specified for applications lodged with complete documentation. Individual cases may take longer than the service standard depending on the completeness and complexity of the case. For further information on service standards see: service standards

Telephone + 61 1300 364 613 (outside Australia) 1300 364 613 (within Australia) | Facsimile + 61 (0) 8 8237 6629 | Website: www.immi.gov.au | Webmail: http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm

Popularity: 6% [?]