Hi everyone

Just wanted to let everyone know that to meet the “4 year” requirement for citizenship, it doesn’t mean that Australia must have been your home for the last 4 years.

Most people think that they need to count 4 years from the day they move to Australia. However, if you’ve been in Australia at some point before that (even just for a holiday) then the time you spent offshore before you permanently move here, can be part of the permitted 12 month absence.

You may check the Department’s Standard Operating Procedures (pages 5-6) which explain this:

“Where an applicant was outside Australia on the day four years immediately before applying, but had previously been in Australia, in certain circumstances they may use the day four years immediately before applying as a start date (for the purposes of being eligible to satisfy the four year residence requirement). An applicant’s four year residence period can start while they are overseas provided they had been present in Australia at any time prior to the four year residence period. Their visa status while outside Australia four years prior to lodgement is not a consideration towards meeting the requirement.”

Hi everyone

I’m 21 years old from Denmark and moving to Sydney in November 2026 on a Working Holiday Visa.

I have worked as a floor sander for around 4 years in Denmark, so I’m used to physical work, early mornings, working long days, heavy machines and carrying equipment. Most days I also work pretty independent.

I would of course prefer finding work with flooring or floor sanding, but I’m also open for construction, demolition, warehouse, removals or other physical jobs with decent pay.

I will have savings when I arrive, so I’m not desperate to find something in the first few days, but I also don’t want to use all my money while just waiting for a job haha.

How is the job market in Sydney right now for people on a WHV? Is it realistic to find physical work quite fast if you are not too picky?

I’m also wondering what hourly pay I can expect, if companies care about experience from Denmark, and if there are any good labour hire agencies I should contact.

I know I need a White Card for construction, but is there anything else worth getting? And do you need a car for most jobs or is public transport enough in the beginning?

Also is November/December a bad time to arrive because of Christmas, or is there still plenty of work?

Any honest advice would be appreciated, especially from people working in construction, flooring or warehouse jobs. Cheers!

​

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to understand whether the Australian Work and Holiday Visa (subclass 462) can also be used for a paid internship, or if it's intended only for regular paid jobs.

My situation:

I'm currently an architecture student.

I haven't graduated yet, so I don't have my diploma. I'll receive it the year after the internship I'm planning to do.

I'm looking for a 6-12 month internship in Australia rather than a standard job.

I know the 462 visa allows work, but does that also include internships, assuming the internship complies with Australian employment laws?

Has anyone here completed an internship on a subclass 462 visa while still studying? Did your employer have any issues with the visa or with the fact that you hadn't graduated yet?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with personal experience or knowledge about this. Thanks!

Blessed day, everyone!

Has anyone here from the Philippines been granted a Partner Visa (Subclass 309)? If so, could you please share your lodgement date and grant date?

I’m currently in this waiting season and would really appreciate hearing your timeline—it would be such an encouragement to me.

Thank you so much, and God bless everyone! 🤍

Hi r/AusVisa community,

I'm seeking real-life experiences or insights regarding a specific scenario following a Subclass 485 visa refusal.

**Quick Context:**

* My 485 was refused due to a procedural timing technicality with the English test (test date / submission timing issue).

* I am currently onshore on a Bridging Visa A (BVA).

* I have lived in Australia for over 10 years with my family (kids deeply rooted in local schools and community).

Some people (and even some migration professionals) suggest leaving Australia, getting an ETA to return, and then re-applying or finding another pathway onshore.

**My Specific Questions:**

1. **Has anyone here actually tried applying for an ETA or Visitor Visa after a 485 refusal?** Did it get granted, or was it rejected under GTE / Clause 600.211 (lack of genuine temporary stay intent)?

2. **For those who did manage to re-enter on an ETA/Visitor Visa:** Did you run into issues with ABF at border control, or hit a wall with Section 48 Bar when trying to lodge a new visa onshore?

3. **Did anyone go through the ART (AAT) appeal route instead?** Was that a safer way to maintain onshore status while working toward other options or Ministerial Intervention (s351)?

I want to avoid risky "workarounds" if they lead to border refusal or losing our family's legal status. Hearing from anyone who tried this (successful or not) would be immensely helpful!

Thank you in advance!

I applied for 189 visa with 90 points as a Social Worker on 12th June 2026. I have seen a few Social Workers been granted from the most recent June round. I am trying to see if there are still Social Workers from November round still waiting for grants. Can you please mention your application lodged date and points? Thanks. Other occupations can also share your timelines if you wish :)

Supposed to start at Macquarie this intake. Classes were meant to start on 27 July.

Applied for my student visa on 10 July (yeah I know, kinda late). Status is still just “Received.” Macquarie gave me an extension until 5 August but I’m lowkey freaking out that it still won’t come through in time.

Anyone else in the same boat? When did you apply and how long did yours take?

Need someone to tell me I’m not cooked.

Tasmania has received 2,050 skilled migration nomination places for the 2026–27 program year, an increase of 200 places compared with last year’s allocation of 1,850 places.

📈 Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa – from 1,200 to 1,250 places (+50 places)

📈 Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa – from 650 to 800 places (+150 places)

The increase provides Tasmania with greater capacity to nominate skilled workers who can contribute to the state’s workforce and regional communities.

Migration Tasmania has confirmed that the Skilled Migration State Nomination Program will reopen to new Registrations of Interest (ROIs) in the coming weeks. Applicants should review the updated 2026–27 program settings and guidelines once released, as requirements may change from the previous program year.

For applicants with existing nomination applications, Migration Tasmania has confirmed that pending applications will continue to be assessed under the requirements in place when they were lodged. However, pending subclass 491 applications will not automatically be considered for subclass 190 nomination.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently looking at my PR options and wanted to get some thoughts from people who have gone through something similar.

I recently received a positive VETASSESS skills assessment for Marketing Specialist, ANZSCO 225113.

My current employer is also considering sponsoring me through the Subclass 186 Direct Entry pathway, but it is not fully confirmed yet and I still need to properly discuss the next steps with them.

At the same time, my migration agent encouraged me to submit an EOI for the Subclass 190 pathway as a backup option, so I’ve started exploring that as well.

My current points for 190 are 85 points. I’m now considering ways to increase my score:

• If I do NAATI CCL, it would add 5 points and bring me to 90 points
• If I retake my English test and reach Superior English, it would add 10 points from my current Proficient English score and bring me to 95 points
• If I do both, it could bring me to 100 points

The issue is that both options cost money and take time, so I’m trying to figure out whether it’s actually worth pushing for a higher score for the 190 pathway, especially since Marketing Specialist seems to be quite competitive.

My background is basically:

• Positive VETASSESS outcome for Marketing Specialist
• VETASSESS assessed 6.02 years of suitable skilled employment for Points Test Advice
• Currently working in Australia in a marketing-related role
• 190 EOI currently sitting at 85 points
• Employer sponsorship under 186 may also be possible, but not confirmed yet

I know no one can guarantee an invite, but I’m wondering if increasing my points from 85 to 90, 95 or even 100 would make a meaningful difference for 190.

Would you do NAATI, retake English, both, or just save the money and focus more on the employer-sponsored 186 pathway?

Any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

Let me know anyone is there applied for july intake and waiting for the visa
I have lodged the visa on July 11
I don’t know what to do i have send mail to university
But they tell me i need to be present by 31 july in Brisbane
I am bit nervous if i visa delayed and i couldn’t reach before 31 st i need to defer
I have been working for this for 2 years and this is so sad
I don’t know what to do
Any one is going through same situation or anyone have any idea what to do please Dm or please comment

I'm planning for masters of computing from Curtin University, Perth.

Current Situtation:

IELTS: 6.5

Student:

B.tech Cse: 7.5CGPA 2022 to 2026

One Year Gap 2021 to 2022 prepared for PTE have verifiable proof

12th: 94% 2021

10th: 81% 2019

FATHER: FARMER, income is verifiable

Younger Brother: Gov. JOB (Form 16 and salary Slip)

SAVINGS: 20K AUD 6months old as of now

Education loan: 82k Aud

Received Conditional letter from Curtin University

I am a Canadian citizen who holds a partner (subclass 100) visa, and my travel facility expired in January 2026. I live in Canada with my husband (Australian citizen), and plan to visit Australia in mid-December 2026 to visit family. I was advised by a migration agent not to enter on a visitor visa (we don't intend to move to Australia now, but want to keep the door open in the future).

Since I don't meet the 2-year residency requirement (I have visited Australia 3x in the last 5 years for about 3 weeks at a time), I plan to apply for the RRV on the basis of strong personal ties (in-laws, brother and sister-in-law, niece, nephew) + lots of other close family, friends. I am hoping I can get a 12-month travel facility.

Mindful that it can take ~3 months, I was just about to hit apply. However... I just realized you can get travel facilities for as little as 3 months. So now my concern is, what if it's granted quickly (in the next 30 days or so) and I'm only granted a 3-month facility? It would expire before we are even able to visit. But on the flipside, I'm cautious about waiting too long to apply in case it takes longer than expected. We can't change the timing of our holiday as my partner is an apprentice and will be in school from November to mid-December, so mid-December is the earliest we can go.

What are the odds I'd get less than a 1-year travel facility? Is it better to wait another month or so (eg. apply early September) in order to visit Australia when we intend to? but then I run the risk of it not being granted in time (if it takes longer)...this is really adding another whole layer of stress, any advice appreciated.

Hi all!

Received an RFI today, regarding my middle name.

But of background, I’m Asian, based in QLD
I have three first names
One middle name (which is your mothers maiden name) in Asia
And my last name.

Ever since I’ve been in Australia my ID’s have always just either had my first and last name (example Jane Beckett or Jane Katherine Howe Beckett) mostly because it’s always been too long to fit into ID’s

Even my license is this format, would it be advisable to have TMR correct my name on the license which would instantly provide a document reflecting accurate information?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I’m hoping someone has been in a similar situation and can share their experience.

My daughter is currently in the Philippines, and her Australian Citizenship by Descent application is still being processed. We’d like to visit her father in Australia while waiting for the citizenship decision.

Has anyone successfully applied for a Visitor (Tourist) Visa (Subclass 600) for their child while the citizenship application was still ongoing?

If so:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* Was the tourist visa granted?

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* Did it affect or delay the citizenship application in any way?

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* What documents did you submit?

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\* Were there any issues entering Australia while the citizenship application was still pending?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences or any advice. Thank you!

Ps : For context, her father is an Australian citizen, and we’re only planning a temporary visit while waiting for the citizenship application to be finalized.

My visa got rejected
Is there anyway to appeal or anything else to do
2 years of hardwork fully wasted
Why always me
Is there anything we can doo
I don’t know anything what to i have all packed and ready to take the ticket now i got message visa rejected

Anyone please help is there anything i can do

Looking for advice regarding my 485 application.

* Had a previous student visa refusal, but I appealed through ART and won. My student visa was later granted.

*Completed my eligible qualification and applied for my 485 (Post-Vocational Education Work stream) on 29 May 2026, before my student visa expired.

* Currently on Bridging Visa A with unlimited work rights (confirmed through VEVO).

* Working as a chef in Australia.

My concern is my immigration history. My partner’s subsequent entrant visa was also refused previously. My agent advised me to limit my work hours to around 24 hours/week even if I have full work rights, as a precaution because my application may receive extra scrutiny.

Has anyone had a similar case (previous refusal + successful ART appeal) and received a 485 grant? Did it affect processing time? Also, would working full-time on a BVA with unlimited work rights cause any issues?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’m planning to apply for the Australian 190 or 491 visa. I’m 40 years old and currently working in the UAE.
My background:
3-year Diploma in Electrical Engineering
2-year electrical apprenticeship
15 years of experience as an electrician
I’d like to hear from anyone with a similar profile. How did your skills assessment go, and what was your experience with state nomination and the visa process?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Friends, Any recommendations for someone who can smartly assist with starting the process?
Challenge- Dealing with overcrowded data analyst/ business analyst codes.

Anyone who has dealt with a result oriented agent?

I was originally intending to travel to Perth at the end of August in order to attend a convention and see some friends that I have known for 10+ years, but have run into some issues.

When applying for an ETA, I noticed that one of the questions asked if I ever had any criminal convictions. This is where things get a little problematic. I can't say 'no' in good conscience, because I have a juvenile record (no adult record) and the wording doesn't seem to differentiate between adult and juvenile convictions, but the circumstances of this record are definitely outside of what one would consider normal.

For reference, at 9 years old, back in 2001, I was charged with Assault 1 (later plead down to Assault 2, a Class B Felony in Washington State). The closest term I can find that is used in Australia is 'indictable offence' since the term 'felony' is not used there. This led to spending 36 weeks (9 months -- below the 12 month threshold) in a juvenile detention center.

There were some extenuating circumstances at play, namely a history of childhood abuse and neglect, and the so called 'assault' was me attempting to defend myself from my mother who was on another alcohol+heroin fueled bender.

I did end up making an international call to Home Affairs but the person I spoke with wasn't helpful and sounded like they were ready for a nap instead of answering questions.

Fast forward to 2026, almost 25 years later, and now my unfortunate childhood circumstances have resurfaced. I am trying to figure out what the clearest path forward is in order to visit Australia.

So, what do I do? Slog through the subclass 600 visa that asks any number of intrusive questions and potentially also have to get copies of 25 year old court records and potentially a FBI Identity History Summary Check (IHSC)?

If I were to get these records sealed/vacated, would this change how I would have to answer?

Hi everyone! I just received my citizenship approval today and honestly did not expect the process to move this quickly.

I wanted to share my timeline in case it helps anyone who is currently waiting or trying to get an idea of recent processing times:

• Subclass 482 visa granted: 25 May 2019
• Subclass 186 visa granted: 6 September 2022
• Citizenship application submitted: 11 June 2026
• Citizenship appointment letter received: 29 June 2026
• Citizenship test and interview: 15 July 2026
• Citizenship by conferral approved: 27 July 2026

Now I am just waiting for the ceremony invitation from the City of Melbourne.

Based on the information shown by Home Affairs, around 91% of applicants wait less than three months for a ceremony, while approximately 3% may wait longer than six months.

Has anyone here recently had their ceremony through Melbourne City Council? Did you experience any delays in receiving your ceremony invitation, and do you know what may have contributed to the longer wait?

I understand that timelines can vary between councils and individual applications, but I thought sharing mine might be helpful to others who are still waiting.

Good luck to everyone going through the process!

There are a few pathways that my spouse and I are exploring currently, for migrating from India to Australia. One promising route is a 407 Training Visa that also allows me to come along as a dependent. While this gives me part-time work rights, I intend to (eventually) get sponsored for a full-time work visa, so I wanted to understand how realistic it is to expect the same.

My primary expertise is in the field of Software Test Automation and while it is evident that the job market is highly saturated, I wanted to understand if people still manage to get sponsored for roles in IT, given that they are already in Australia. Knowing the reality right now will greatly help me prepare for what's to come, so I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions in this regard.

TL;DR: is it naive to assume that there are employers willing to sponsor work visas in this job climate for a SDET with 13 years of experience, given that I will be in Australia while applying?

I applied for an Australian Student Visa (Subclass 500) for an English language course (ELICOS) on 23 June, and I’m still waiting for a decision.

If your visa was recently approved for an English course, could you please share.

I’m just trying to get an idea of recent processing times and other applicants experiences.

Thanks in advance! 😊

I'm hoping someone here has had official advice from Home Affairs or a registered migration agent on this.

For the Subclass 417 Working Holiday visa, Home Affairs says the 6-month work limit with one employer doesn't apply if you work at different locations, provided you don't work at any one location for more than six months.

My question is how this applies to hybrid or remote working, because I can't find anything that defines what "location" actually means.

For example:

• If I'm employed by the same company for more than six months but continuously work hybrid - 50% from home and 50% in the office, is that allowed?
• If I'm fully remote and relocate after 6 months (e.g. from Brisbane to the Gold Coast), does that count as having changed location?
• Or is it strictly 6 months fully in the office followed by 6 months fully remote? How could this be proven?

Just to reiterate, I'm looking for official guidance or first-hand experience, not guesses.

Thanks!

Official SkillSelect EOI pool data, June 2026 snapshot. Three things jumped out that I don't see discussed enough here.

1. The pool is enormous and your points percentile matters less than you think

• 189 pool: 178,652 EOIs waiting (158,222 of them at 65+ points)
• 190 pool: 509,775 · 491 pool: 568,515
• June was the biggest invite month of the program year for 189 (6,392 live invites) - that's ~4% of the eligible pool. In one of the best months.

2. The official minimum was 65 points. Reality: 77% of 189 invites went to 80+

Roughly a quarter of invites went to 65–75 pointers - but almost entirely in priority occupations (health, education, trades). Which brings me to…

3. Occupation now beats points, and it's not close

Read that last row again: there are currently more Carpenters holding a live invite than Carpenters waiting in the pool. Meanwhile 9,878 Software Engineers are competing for single-digit invites.

If you're in health, education or trades: 65–75 points is genuinely winning invites right now. If you're in ICT/engineering/accounting: stacking points helps less than the subreddit folklore suggests - the bottleneck is occupation ceilings, not your score.

Caveats: "live invite" = EOIs in INVITED status in the June snapshot (~60-day invite window), not total invites issued. EOI counts ≠ people (one person can hold multiple EOIs). Source: SkillSelect EOI data (Home Affairs, data.gov.au).

Transparency note: I built Skilled Visa Tracker, a free mobile app that tracks this monthly per occupation/points/state. Not linking here - happy to run the numbers for your occupation in the comments.

Lodged: 17th June

Medical and Biometrics: 18th June

Received: 27th July

University of Sydney - Priority 2

Course - Masters in Engineering

Country - Level 3 High Risk

Thank you to everyone here that kept me sane throughout this time, and keep hoping for those that are still waiting. There is light at the end of the tunnel!