# 176 visa for Software Engineer - started Dec 2011



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

I am an IT professional with an ICT major in computing and 6.5 years of Perl & J2EE experience with a single employer in financial services sector. 

Skills Assessment Online Application : Dec 11, 2011
Hard copies reached ACS : Dec 16, 2011
Positive Result from ACS : Jan 16, 2012

IELTS (General Training) : Feb 18, 2012
IELTS Result (Online) : Mar 5, 2012 (L 9.0, R 9.0, W 8.0, S 8.0) 

I will be applying for State Sponsorship to Victoria and NSW in the next couple of days. 
Thanks to atsurti and varunsal for patiently answering my questions. 

I will post specific details of my application to this thread.


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

*Applied for Vic and NSW SS*

I applied for Victoria and NSW state sponsorship today.


----------



## brahmgupta (Mar 10, 2012)

Hello Sraza,
I am also an IT professional with experience over 5yrs and looking for immigration to Australia..
Your case look same to mine.. Can you please share with which consultant you have filed your case ?


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

brahmgupta said:


> Hello Sraza,
> I am also an IT professional with experience over 5yrs and looking for immigration to Australia..
> Your case look same to mine.. Can you please share with which consultant you have filed your case ?


I am filing it without any consultant. This forum has everything you need to know to file by yourself. Good luck!


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

*VIC SS application goof up*

I am repeating my comment from this thread for benefit of others : http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...3121-victoria-ss-timelines-14.html#post735583

I regret not reading the forum thoroughly for VIC SS. Though undocumented on VIC website, it appears that providing a written statement upfront will make a stronger case. stormgal on this forum got her VIC approval in 11 days by providing a written statement upfront. 

I have IT experience in the financial services industry and Melbourne is full of those. Financial Services - Opportunities - Invest Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

Honestly, I prefer NSW over VIC but with the July 2012 changes like SkillSelect and SOL revision (with risk of ICT being dropped), anything for 176 is great.


----------



## mansin (Mar 1, 2012)

sraza said:


> I am repeating my comment from this thread for benefit of others : http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...3121-victoria-ss-timelines-14.html#post735583
> 
> I regret not reading the forum thoroughly for VIC SS. Though undocumented on VIC website, it appears that providing a written statement upfront will make a stronger case. stormgal on this forum got her VIC approval in 11 days by providing a written statement upfront.
> 
> ...


Hi Sraza,

I want to clear one doubt , if we apply for 176 , say for VIC, is there any restriction for working and living in melbourne. 

Since job opportunities are flooded in the major cities and I think the main reason for AUS government to have this scheme is to develop other cities in the state.

Please correct me , if I have understood it wrongly...


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

mansin said:


> Hi Sraza,
> 
> I want to clear one doubt , if we apply for 176 , say for VIC, is there any restriction for working and living in melbourne.
> 
> ...


Seniors can correct me if I am wrong. 
AFAIK, you can work and live anywhere in VIC on 176. There is another visa subclass that restricts you to regional areas

Also, the obligation to live in sponsored state is moral but not legal. That said, if you do not oblige, it is logical to assume that your case for RRV or citizenship later on might be weakened.


----------



## emaily (Mar 28, 2012)

*info*



sraza said:


> I applied for Victoria and NSW state sponsorship today.


Hi,
sraza

I have 03 yers 09 months of experience as Analyst Programmer, which is assessed positively by ACS.

But my next experience od 03 years as DBA is assesed as not relevent to my nominated occupation.

So, now I only have over 03 years of experience as Analyst Programmer. And because of this I need state sponsorship. 

My question to you is that, as my exp as Analyst Programmer is from 2005 to 2009, which is almost 3 yers ago, so how this factor will be assessed by state authority and by immigration authority?

I would be really grateful if you guys could give me some information as I am also doing this process by myself.

Good luck to you and please let us know about your state sponsorship status.


----------



## shyamvpillai (Jul 6, 2011)

sraza said:


> I am repeating my comment from this thread for benefit of others : http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...3121-victoria-ss-timelines-14.html#post735583
> 
> I regret not reading the forum thoroughly for VIC SS. Though undocumented on VIC website, it appears that providing a written statement upfront will make a stronger case. stormgal on this forum got her VIC approval in 11 days by providing a written statement upfront.
> 
> ...


I am bit confused on written statement, Is it a cover letter stating my job profile and why planning to move to Victoria ?


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

emaily said:


> Hi,
> sraza
> 
> I have 03 yers 09 months of experience as Analyst Programmer, which is assessed positively by ACS.
> ...


I am afraid I don't know answer to your question. You will have to ask this on another thread or start a new thread to get opinion from senior expats here. 

I am guessing you didn't nominate DBA because its not on the list?


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

shyamvpillai said:


> I am bit confused on written statement, Is it a cover letter stating my job profile and why planning to move to Victoria ?


I meant a letter indicating why you plan to move to VIC (and not other states).


----------



## saydur (Feb 4, 2012)

emaily said:


> Hi,
> sraza
> 
> I have 03 yers 09 months of experience as Analyst Programmer, which is assessed positively by ACS.
> ...


Hi emaily,

From what you have said, I am assuming that you have selected Analyst Programmer as your nominated occupation.

As your experience as Analyst Programmer is almost 3 years old, I am afraid that you may not be eligible to apply to DIAC, I am not sure through.
Please check this link: Skilled – Independent (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 175)
It says:
*"If your nominated occupation is not on the Specified Trade Occupations list, you must provide evidence that you have been in paid employment in any skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) for at least 12 months in the 24 months immediately before applying."*

In last 24 months you were not employed as Analyst Programmer.
I am not sure whether you have to be employed in your selected occupation or any skilled occupation in SOL. I guess in either case its bad luck for you. Because in last 24 months you were employed as DBA, which is not in the SOL for 175.

Please don't get demotivated by my words, this just what I have understood, I could be wrong. Better do some research on this.

Wish you all the best.


----------



## emaily (Mar 28, 2012)

saydur said:


> Hi emaily,
> 
> From what you have said, I am assuming that you have selected Analyst Programmer as your nominated occupation.
> 
> ...



Hi,
Thanks for your reply.

I have checked your your given link.

But there is also some other info that I found, please check this link,

[sorry can't post link yet, forum rules]
//please go to "Main applicant eligibility", then from POINTS TEST go to 
"Overseas and Australian Skilled Employment – Points" link.//


It says,

*"You will be awarded points for employment in a skilled occupation, gained over the past ten years either in Australia or overseas. To claim points for skilled employment, the experience that you claim must be in your nominated occupation, or in a closely related occupation. You can claim points for both Australian skilled employment and overseas skilled employment and this may be from a combination of both Australian and overseas employment experience provided it was undertaken in the last 10 years."*

Your link is from "Recent Skilled Employment Experience – Eligibility" part and it also talk about 
"If your nominated occupation is not on the *Specified Trade Occupations list*, you must provide evidence that you have been in paid employment in *any skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List *(SOL) for at least 12 months in the 24 months immediately before applying."

So it states that if I'm not in "Specified Trade Occupations list", then I have to be in "any skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List", not my selected occupation.

What is your opinion?

I myself am certainly not an expert, so any expertise from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.


----------



## saydur (Feb 4, 2012)

emaily said:


> Your link is from "Recent Skilled Employment Experience – Eligibility" part and it also talk about
> "If your nominated occupation is not on the *Specified Trade Occupations list*, you must provide evidence that you have been in paid employment in *any skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List *(SOL) for at least 12 months in the 24 months immediately before applying."
> 
> So it states that if I'm not in "Specified Trade Occupations list", then I have to be in "any skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List", not my selected occupation.


As per my understanding, in last 24 months you were employed neither in your selected occupation nor in any skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List.

I am saying this because DBA is not on the Skilled Occupation List for 175 (SOL schedule-1). Hope you got my point.

@forum members,
please correct me if I am wrong.


----------



## emaily (Mar 28, 2012)

saydur said:


> As per my understanding, in last 24 months you were employed neither in your selected occupation nor in any skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List.
> 
> I am saying this because DBA is not on the Skilled Occupation List for 175 (SOL schedule-1). Hope you got my point.
> 
> ...


Yes you are right about SOL-1.

But if I apply for 176, DBA is existed in SOL-2 list. So I should be fine, right?

What do you think guys?


----------



## dreamaus (Nov 12, 2011)

emaily said:


> Yes you are right about SOL-1.
> 
> But if I apply for 176, DBA is existed in SOL-2 list. So I should be fine, right?
> 
> What do you think guys?


yes, provided you manage to get a SS from state that lists this job code


----------



## saydur (Feb 4, 2012)

emaily said:


> Yes you are right about SOL-1.
> 
> But if I apply for 176, DBA is existed in SOL-2 list. So I should be fine, right?
> 
> What do you think guys?


Yes, you have to get SS for that.


----------



## emaily (Mar 28, 2012)

Hello guys,

Thanks all for your reply.

Does anyone know about VIC or NSW's rule about recent experience in nominated occupation.
How recent does it have to be to be eligible for their SS?

Any info. on this will really help me a lot.

Thanks.


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

*NSW SS Approved!*

I got approval letter from NSW today. 

I had applied on Mar 9, courier reached them on Mar 14. 
I got a mail from them on Mar 20 that my payment has been rejected. 
I arranged australian money order which reached them on Mar 26. 
I received approval letter by post on Apr 2. It is dated Mar 26. 

Next step is to apply 176 online!


----------



## dreamaus (Nov 12, 2011)

sraza said:


> I got approval letter from NSW today.
> 
> I had applied on Mar 9, courier reached them on Mar 14.
> I got a mail from them on Mar 20 that my payment has been rejected.
> ...


Cool. go ready for next step. all the best


----------



## mansin (Mar 1, 2012)

sraza said:


> I got approval letter from NSW today.
> 
> I had applied on Mar 9, courier reached them on Mar 14.
> I got a mail from them on Mar 20 that my payment has been rejected.
> ...


Congrats Sraza,

I applied for VIC during the same period ... got the ack , but no news yet.. Fingers crossed..


----------



## saydur (Feb 4, 2012)

sraza said:


> I got approval letter from NSW today.
> 
> I had applied on Mar 9, courier reached them on Mar 14.
> I got a mail from them on Mar 20 that my payment has been rejected.
> ...


wow!! Congrats!!!


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

I have filled in my 176 online application but not submitted yet. 

Need advise/confirmation on the following : 
1) Wife doesn't have family name or surname on passport. Family name is mandatory and the website indicates I should provide given name as family name. 

2) Alternate Spellings of my name
My middle name has couple of alternate spellings but most of my certificates have the correct name. Is there any hassle with providing names?

3) parents should be "other family members" but not "Non Migrating family members" right?

4) My 11 month old son is dependent. While entering his details, there's a field for Relationship status. I am assuming this is his relationship status i.e Never married

5) My wife and I haven't been abroad for more than a year but DIAC requires that atleast one country be specified. I am filling country as India with date range of full 10 years. 

6) How detailed should be description of duties? can we copy/paste content from employer reference. 

7) IELTS test reference number - I am assuming this is the TRF number that is located on the bottom right on the result


8) My wife had all her education, school, degree, post grad in english medium. I have applied for her degree certificates and will get them in another 20 days. 
Do I have to attach any proof at this time or later? if yes, her school and intermediate certificates mention "English" as medium of instruction. Will these work? 

9) Other than details appearing on the online form, should I provide any other forms? I am *not* providing PCC and medicals upfront. 

10) I have seen some conversation on form 80 and form 1221 on another thread - are these relevant to online application?


----------



## dreamaus (Nov 12, 2011)

1. You can provide it as FNU (First name unspecified) but it is always good to fix this issue as most of the forms in future will have first name as mandatory.
2. Make sure you give as per passport and submit all other docs that has consistent spelling.
3. yes parents in 'other family members' unless you want to take them with you permanently now.
4. yes, Never married I did so
5. yes, i did so.
6. Don't make it long. Just 3-4 lines very briefly.
7. yes the TRF number
8. yes the certificate that has MoI mentioned will work and it worked in my case as well
9. nope nothing is required for now.
10. after applying check your document checklist. if it asks give it else let CO ask for it if he wishes.

there are some gotchas while filling the form which I mentioned her http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...ustralia/103121-victoria-ss-timelines-20.html. take a look


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

saydur said:


> wow!! Congrats!!!


Thanks @saydur and @mansin. I have started 176 online application. Should be done in a couple of days!


----------



## emaily (Mar 28, 2012)

sraza said:


> I got approval letter from NSW today.
> 
> I had applied on Mar 9, courier reached them on Mar 14.
> I got a mail from them on Mar 20 that my payment has been rejected.
> ...


Congrats......

Wish you all the best.


----------



## bukhari (Mar 18, 2011)

good luck


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

Thanks @emaily and @bukhari. I am going to apply tomorrow.

Dreamaus,

Did you mean "FNU" as Family Name Unspecified or First Name Unspecified.

On her passport, my wife doesn't have anything under surname and has two names under given name. This is correct because neither of the two names are her family name. 

DIAC website doesn't allow me to leave the Family name blank. The help for that field says that we should provide all given names as Family name if we are not sure. 

Any suggestions are welcome


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

dreamaus said:


> 1. You can provide it as FNU (First name unspecified) but it is always good to fix this issue as most of the forms in future will have first name as mandatory.
> 2. Make sure you give as per passport and submit all other docs that has consistent spelling.
> 3. yes parents in 'other family members' unless you want to take them with you permanently now.
> 4. yes, Never married I did so
> ...


Thanks Dreamaus. Your post on the VIC SS thread is very helpful. 

I got PCC two days ago so I am planning to front load mine. I will provide it for my wife later. 

I have filled out 176 and am ready with upload documents. Only thing pending is bank statement which I will get tomorrow. 

Does a debit card work instead of credit card? 

After I pay and submit, how does it look like? Are there designated areas for each type of document (like VIC for example)? 

CO assignment clock ticks soon after submission or only after documents are uploaded?


----------



## dreamaus (Nov 12, 2011)

sraza said:


> Thanks Dreamaus. Your post on the VIC SS thread is very helpful.
> 
> I got PCC two days ago so I am planning to front load mine. I will provide it for my wife later.
> 
> ...


Good to know that it was helpful. If you have all docs except the bank statement I think you are good to go even now as they give 28 days time to upload all docs after submitting online.

After you submit take care these important things.

1. Before even applying in the final page of application you will get all app details in 1 page. take a copy of that page.
2. No debit cards, only credit cards will work.
3. After you pay you will get few link on that page to download you app in pdf, receipt details, some guidelines etc. download all of them as you might not get few of those details/links later and you might miss what you have filled in application as there is not way to retrieve them. 
4. You will get automated mail in 1 days with all steps detailed. 
5. there are 2 links of importance. 1 is for checking status on app and the other one is to upload hte docs. use the 2nd one to upload the docs. in that link for every doc there is a list of category against which this doc will get uploaded. for ss there is somethink state nomination...use that category and so on for respective docs. it is very easy ..just browse thro them u will know. 

good luck.


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

*Lodged 176 online!*

Thanks Dreamaus!

I lodged 176 online on Apr 18 and I attached documents today. 

- I uploaded all work related documents (CV, Emp Ref, pay slips, tax returns) under "Specific work experience" as all my experience is in nominated occupation. 

- I couldn't find a document type for uploading SS letter from NSW. I uploaded it as "other". 

Is this okay?


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

I got a request from CO for PCC and Meds on May 5. 

Dreamaus, 
I had frontloaded my PCC and the checklist I got mentions "Character" for my wife. I am assuming this means PCC and if CO wants form 80 or 1221, he/she will mention it explicitly.


----------



## dreamaus (Nov 12, 2011)

sraza said:


> I got a request from CO for PCC and Meds on May 5.
> 
> Dreamaus,
> I had frontloaded my PCC and the checklist I got mentions "Character" for my wife. I am assuming this means PCC and if CO wants form 80 or 1221, he/she will mention it explicitly.


I think yes it must be PCC. If your checklist says 80/1221 against an applicant you will have to provide it else no need unless CO explicitly asks for it. For me none of us were asked for any of those forms.


----------



## ind2aus (Mar 14, 2011)

Hi All,

I got ACS result as Software Engineer last year, but I did not sit for IELTS yet. I am going to take IELTS test in Jun. I need to get the band score 8 in all sections. If not, I can not log my DIAC application before 1st July 2012.

Is ACS approved letter for Software Engineer valid after July 1st ? please clarify me.

Thanks in anticipation!!!

regards
ind2aus


----------



## emaily (Mar 28, 2012)

ind2aus said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I got ACS result as Software Engineer last year, but I did not sit for IELTS yet. I am going to take IELTS test in Jun. I need to get the band score 8 in all sections. If not, I can not log my DIAC application before 1st July 2012.
> 
> ...


As far as I know it is valid for 2 years & it is written on your assessment letter as well. And It is valid regardless of July-2012 changes.


----------



## rvijaysubs (Dec 25, 2011)

emaily said:


> As far as I know it is valid for 2 years & it is written on your assessment letter as well. And It is valid regardless of July-2012 changes.


Even if valid, DIAC will ask for further proofs to support your employment. It could be pay slips, letter from your company/manager etc. Be ready with those.


----------



## zeinasoft (Jul 4, 2012)

sraza said:


> I am an IT professional with an ICT major in computing and 6.5 years of Perl & J2EE experience with a single employer in financial services sector.
> 
> Skills Assessment Online Application : Dec 11, 2011
> Hard copies reached ACS : Dec 16, 2011
> ...


Dear Raza,
I'm IT guy also who is working in gulf region where we are not allowed to get a letter which describe our job duties 
the job title and the salary is the max that we can get .

please let me know what i can o in just a case 

what will happen if i send my the assment based on the letters that i have which contain job titles only ?

thanks alot


----------



## lachuupriya (Aug 23, 2012)

sraza

Your threads was amazing. I'm doing homework with Ryan.

Thanks
Lachuu


----------



## sraza (Nov 24, 2011)

*176 granted on Sep 20*

Hi all, 

I got my grant. Details in http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...pats-living-australia/126351-176-granted.html

Special thanks to Dreamaus.


----------



## v190 (Sep 22, 2011)

sraza said:


> I got approval letter from NSW today.
> 
> I had applied on Mar 9, courier reached them on Mar 14.
> I got a mail from them on Mar 20 that my payment has been rejected.
> ...


Hi sraza,

Did you get acknowledgement email from NSW after they received your documents?

Also, did they send any approval email before the approval letter reached you by post?

Thanks,
VJ


----------



## SunFlower48 (Oct 19, 2013)

*A question*



sraza said:


> I am an IT professional with an ICT major in computing and 6.5 years of Perl & J2EE experience with a single employer in financial services sector.
> 
> Skills Assessment Online Application : Dec 11, 2011
> Hard copies reached ACS : Dec 16, 2011
> ...


Hi, by the time u read this post, u r definitely in NSW/Vic.
Anyway, I wanted to know if it is really possible to apply for multiple state sponsorships at the same time for subclass 190?
And one more thing, how could u manage to got such a good results for IELTS?
I appreciate your help


----------

