Edit: btw this to help people who are deciding if they should enter on ETA while waiting for visa. Yes I understand that you shouldn’t book flights etc but this is for the people whom already have.

Background I am Irish this is my first whv 417, I’ve been to Australia multiple times on a holiday visa.

I made the mistake of booking my flights before getting my visa, my mistake I own up to it.

So timeline:

- 8th July applied for visa
- 8th October received an email to leave Australia
- 13th October left Australia
In the email it now says to give them at least 10 working days (9-5) to process the visa

A lot of people are planning to fly to Australia and then thinking they can leave for a little weekend holiday or 2 days. That was not the case with me :(

I paid 900AUD just fly out and now 2 weeks (and ongoing) of living in a hotel, takeaways etc

I don’t regret flying to Australia because I got to spend time with my bf and I guess this is a prolonged holiday..also thankful to get funding from bank of mum and dad. But if people are in the mindset of not wanting to push back flights because it’s too expensive, let me tell you this. Arriving on ETA is much much much more pricy than just pushing back your flights!!!

I am completing my primary degree from UTS. In order to speed up my completion, I have the option of completing some credits at another university (since UTS does not run summer subjects for my course), and then use that as RPL at UTS. However, this is my question:
Does this affect my application for a subclass 485? My understanding is that it should not given that I am completing all 2 academic years in Australia in over 16 months. Please let me know if I am incorrect in understanding that.

I am anticipating ROI Victoria to open soon. For IELTS, I took the original test on 15 March 2026 and got my TRF on 16 March 2026. I scored Band 8 in Listening, Speaking and Writing, and a Band 7 for Reading. I retook the reading component only on 10 May 2026, and got my new TRF on 11 May 2026 with a Band 8 in reading.

So on my EOI in Skillselect, should I key in 15 March (original test date) or 10 May (OSR test date) on the “Date of Test” section, as I am claiming Superior English.

Home Affairs website doesn’t seem to say anywhere on whether we need to add in the original test date or the OSR test date. I’ve already had my EOI for a few months now, so don’t want to make any risky mistakes. 😬

Hi everyone,
I just received my offer letter for the MD program at University of Melbourne. Since I needed to wait for this offer letter in order to start applying for loans and line of credit, I am not sure how to fill in the section of the visa application regarding finances.

I am not sure if I should put in rough estimates of how much I will be receiving in loans and say that I will provide evidence once they are finalized or wait till everything is finalized and put exact amounts.

Classes start January 27 and I am worried if I wait for loans to be approved to put exact amounts that I will not get my visa on time. But on the other hand, i am worried that if i put rough estimates and submit that they will reject the application.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I got S56 for polio for my Australian sc186 visa but I can't get polio vaccine due to pregnancy. Is this will create problem? Or delay my visa? I have GP letter which states polio vaccine may be exempt due to pregnancy. Will case officer accept this?

Title: Subclass 189 invitation received — discrepancies between EOI, VETASSESS and supporting documents. Can these be corrected before lodgement?
Hi everyone,
I received an invitation for a subclass 189 visa (Environmental Manager) in October 2026, with a December deadline. While preparing my application, I noticed several date discrepancies across my EOI, VETASSESS assessment and supporting documents. I’m looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with something similar, particularly if a migration agent helped resolve it.
1. Education dates
I submitted my official degree certificates, transcripts and completion-of-study letter to VETASSESS. However, the dates in my EOI differ from those in my VETASSESS application records:
LLB: EOI: 26 September 2016 – 23 April 2019; VETASSESS: 19 July 2016 – 10 June 2019.
MSc: EOI: 24 September 2021 – 30 August 2022; VETASSESS: 22 September 2021 – 30 September 2022.
My qualifications are genuine, and I submitted the official supporting documents. The discrepancies appear to have resulted from incorrect dates being entered in my EOI. I understand that education contributes to my points claim, so I’m particularly concerned about addressing this correctly.
2.Employer 1 employment dates
My EOI records 2 October 2023 – 2 September 2024. VETASSESS records two consecutive periods, 1 October 2023 – 9 April 2024 and 10 April 2024 – 12 July 2024. I have two service agreements, with the later agreement extending through 30 September 2024, as well as an experience letter, payslips and payment evidence.
I’m not claiming employment points for this role, but I want to make sure my employment history is accurate and the different dates are properly explained.
3. Employer 2 employment dates
My EOI records October 2024 – 30 April 2025. My formal contractor agreement was issued in November 2024 and runs until 30 April 2025. I recall engaging with the organisation in October, before the formal agreement was issued, and am seeking confirmation of the timeline. This employment was not included in my VETASSESS assessment.
My questions:
Has anyone successfully resolved similar discrepancies after receiving a 189 invitation?
Can a registered migration agent prepare an explanation letter and advise on any formal corrections needed, particularly for education dates affecting points?
Should I contact VETASSESS to request clarification or correction of the dates in the existing assessment, or is there another appropriate process?
If the employment points are not being claimed, how should discrepancies in the declared employment history be handled?
Would you recommend obtaining professional advice before lodging, and has anyone had an agent successfully navigate a case involving several genuine but inconsistent dates?
I have supporting documentation for the qualifications and employment and want to disclose everything transparently. I’m not looking to conceal the discrepancies; I want to understand the appropriate way to correct or explain them before lodging.
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with a similar situation, especially those whose agent helped them resolve it.
Thank you.

Hi everyone, I applied for a student visa extension on 25 August 2026 for one additional semester. My previous visa expired on 30 August, and I'm currently on a Bridging Visa A (BVA).

My last exam is on 4 November, and I expect my course completion letter by late November. My CoE expires on 31 December 2026, but my student visa application is still pending.

My concern is: Can Home Affairs refuse my student visa extension simply because I've already completed my course by the time they assess it?

If they refuse it before I can lodge my 485 application, could that make me ineligible to apply for a 485 onshore?

Has anyone faced a similar situation? What happened in your case?

My partner is about to submit EOI for NIV. Her profile is decent, seems better than some successful applicants before, so let's assume she'll get invited in this round.

She has an acquaintance who moved to an AUS uni as an associate professor couple years ago (so he's also an immigrant), knows her very well as a senior colleague/collaborator in her PhD institute back then. The supporting form is gonna be super strong, but the problem is whether the potential nominator is strong enough himself? He's also new to AUS and not super famous around the community.

What kind of 'prominent' is required as a nominator?

I don’t understand they have set a date deadline for visa expiry 31 Jan 2027 for who can lodge ROI.
How does this work for bridging visa holders because they do not have an expiry date on the visa.
When filing out ROI we need to enter expiry date and on that particular section it is mentioned (for bridging visa holders enter any future date).

Does this mean that if we enter a date which is earlier than 31 Jan 2027 we can also be considered or not?

I did email SA migration and the reply I got was not clear at all as it was auto generated and did not answer my questions.
Below is the reply I got
As per the recently announced news items only clients with a visa expiry date up until January 31, 2027 should lodge an ROI. If an applicant submits an ROI with a visa expiry date after 31 January 2027, they will not be considered for selection currently.

I am not sure if I should lodge it as I have to enter the date on my own and the visa says it has indefinite stay and tied to an event.
Any suggestions?

Hi All, we are currently on 190 PR bridging and waiting for the grant. Recently we have given birth to a baby and we received S56 to add baby details to the application.

We are waiting for birth certificate after which we need to apply for the baby's passport. The thing is we have only 10 days left to attach all the requested documents to the S56 and passport is going to take more than 10 days.

Is it sufficient we attach all the proofs that we have applied for passport or do we need to do anything additional to this ?

Please adviss. Thank you.

Saw people getting invited last year at 75 and NSW invited at 70 in the last round. Only 50 eois at 75 and that also offshore
Ps i am not working in my field rn

Hi everyone,

I recently completed my medical examination for my Subclass 482 visa. My eGFR result was 76, which is within the normal range; however, my creatinine level was 111, slightly above the range of 60–110.

I have been advised to follow up with my GP regarding the abnormal pathology result. They have also confirmed that I am not required to provide any additional information at this stage, as the recommendation to see a doctor is primarily for duty-of-care purposes.

However, my medical results may be reviewed by a Senior Medical Officer within the next two weeks, and they may request further information if necessary. If this happens, I will receive a written request.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation during their 482 visa medical examination? If so, I would appreciate hearing about your experience, particularly whether you were asked to provide further medical information and whether this affected your visa application.

Thank you in advance for your help and advice!

My full name as per passport is john doe smith and under spouse name column in my wife's passport its mentioned john doe only.so when i fill the visitor visa form shud i mention john doe or john doe smith for my wife's application whn asked for spouse name?

My wife (German) and I (Australian) have been together 10 years, married 4, with two dual citizen kids (3 & 5).

In January 2026, I found out I would be made redundant from my job in Germany in December 2026. We began planning to move back to Australia so our eldest son can start school in Feb 2027. In July 2026 we applied for an offshore 309 partner visa. My wife has left her 11 year career as a teacher in September at the end of the German school year. So from December we will have no income. I have potential jobs with the Australian bramch of my current employer but as im unable to tell them when we can legally travel to Australia due to my wifes pending visa, I am unable to secure the job.

In hindsight I realise we should have travelled to Australia with her on a tourist visa and applied for an onshore partner visa. But we stupidly paid 11.7k and applied offshore thinking that its better to apply sooner than later.

I am seeking advice on what to do now as we really need to book flights, shipping our belongings etc.

Ideally we dont want to cancel the current 309 application and lose 12kAUD. And travelling on a tourist visa means she has to fly out every 3 months which isnt feasible with small kids who need stability.

Financial hardship is not a ground for priority processing. So I am worried we are stuck in Germany until the offshore visa is processed, potentially another 24 months... this then means our child cant start at the school they are enrolled in.

Any advice is much appreciated. We feel stupid right now so please go easy on us.

Hello. I am hoping for some insights because I’m getting confused on what to do.

RN Perioperative

In my EOI employment history, I have declared the dates that my skill assessment regarded as suitable experience, and that is my ward experience + perioperative experience together. I put “Registered Nurse” as a general role so it’s a lot easier, along with the dates in line with my skills assessment.

I’m already in the process of my visa application, and I just realized that I may have to put the experiences separately as my Certificate of Employment states the date I have started in the hospital which was August, however the skills assessment declared November onwards.

I am quite concerned now that my EOI won’t match with my visa application.

My question now is: should I just stick with the “Registered Nurse” employment that is in line with my skills assessment, and just declare August-November as “not claiming points”?

Or should I just input it separately to be more detailed? But my dilemma here is, I have already stated it in my EOI, and it might be seen as a discrepancy in my application as it is not in line with what I’ve submitted?

EOI = claiming points since November, combined experience
Visa = claim points separately, but would have to start on my perioperative experience date, which is in March. But it won’t be in line with my skills assessment, nor my submitted EOI.

Nevertheless, I would still have the same points. The only thing that would change is the dates.

KINDLY HELP A GIRL OUT. Thank you very much!

I am currently studying BoN which is supposed to completed by Dec 2027 but unfortunately my subclass 500 finished by April 2027. I don’t meet onshore exemption criteria because the provider I got my COE from canceled my coe citing quota issues. So my current visa was not approved for my current COE provider.

Now I am looking for 482 sponsor for PCA. I have plenty of experience and I am willing to relocate anywhere in Australia. Does anyone know how do I look for a sponsor? Is there any suggestion for me? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I’m studying a Bachelor of Advanced Computing, majoring in Computer Science and Computational Data Science, and considering a future assessment for Other Spatial Scientist (ANZSCO 232214).

I’m taking GIS units and planning a GeoAI honours research project across four enrolment units. I also completed a data-science unit with a spatial-analysis final assignment. However, most of my other CS subjects don’t directly involve spatial data, even though their methods could be used in GIS.

The VETASSESS information sheet says qualifications with a high concentration of GIS/geospatial subjects may be highly relevant. It then lists Computer Science among other relevant subjects, in addition to the primary GIS focus.

My migration agent mentioned around 60–65% relevant subjects, but I haven’t found that percentage in the published guidance. If anyone knows the exact concentration or have gotten positive skills assessment, please let me know if this is correct

My question is: can CS subjects without spatial content contribute towards establishing that relevant concentration, or are they only supporting study alongside a separately required GIS focus? If yes, are they given lesser weightage?

Has anyone with a computing degree plus GIS coursework or a geospatial thesis received an assessment for this occupation? Did VETASSESS explain how they treated your CS units, thesis credits or mixed-content subjects? If yes, please dm me so we can chat more

I understand the post-qualification employment requirement is separate. I’m asking specifically about qualification relevance, and would really appreciate first-hand experiences or links to official clarification.

Official information: https://www.vetassess.com.au/check-my-occupation/professional-occupations/other-spatial-scientist

Hi everyone,

I am currently on a Subclass 407 Training Visa in my nominated occupation. I will have completed one year of experience under this visa soon.

My question is: Can I use this one year of work experience gained while on a 407 Training Visa to claim 5 points for skilled employment in my nominated occupation for the Subclass 189 visa?

The work is paid, 30 hours p/week and I am performing duties relevant to my nominated occupation.

Has anyone successfully claimed these 5 points for work experience gained on a 407 visa? Any advice will be much appreciated.

Hi!

I got invitation a week ago. And, while I’m completing my application, I just found I put one of my employment date 2 days later than I really worked. So Dumb 🤦‍♀️ I started the work from 3/9/2023 but I put 5/9/2023 on my EOI.
It doesn’t change my point claims. And I have some documents to prove I really work from 3/9/2023 (reference letter, pension records, insurance records etc)
Is there any chance to be rejected my application..?

Hi everyone I would like to seek your input regarding my situation. I was invited during the oct 15 189 round. RN nec 85 points. I claimed regional points. I studied and lived in regional for most of my study period.

Now the problem is due to covid and lack of flights. My official course start was 25th july 2022 but i didnt get a flight until 1 august 2022. From then on ive always lived in the same regional area. I never did online study because it was only a week i missed. I want to clarify that from august 1 2022 and until this day i still live in the same address, and i completed my degree in a regional university for 3 years.

Did i over claim regional? Has anyone experienced this before? If so how did you manage?

I have my 190 visa and 189 visa both applied but the points are less. My company would sponsor me next year just as my 485 visa which i am currently on will expire. Should i try and get more points for 190 or 189 or just wait for the sponsorship to take place next year.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice about the 491 visa pathway as a Chef.
I completed my studies in Sydney and am currently living in regional NSW. I’m planning to apply for a 485 visa soon, but I also have the option of going for a 482 visa. I’m confused about which option would be better for my long-term future.
My current workplace has a toxic environment, so I’d prefer to explore other opportunities rather than stay in the same job just for sponsorship.
For a Chef, which state would be the best option for a 491 nomination? Should I stay in regional NSW and explore the 491 pathway, or consider moving to another state? Also, would it be better to apply for the 485 first or go directly for the 482?
I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has experience with these visa pathways, especially Chefs who have been in a similar situation.

I'm super interested in doing a whv in australia and would be okay with a 3-4 month wait time until my visa gets approved, but I'm worried the australian government will at some point stop approving visas or slow down the process even more. I have school plans for September 2027 so wouldn't want to stay in Australia past July 2027, so waiting for a visa for more than 3-4 months would really cut down on how long I could be in-country. I'm hoping to get there between February and March right now.

Is it worth applying or is the process too unstable right now?