I hold an SIR visa and I'm currently trying to sell my UK house prior to moving to Adelaide.

My SIR '3 years' begins on 01/11/06 and we have had no luck with the house as yet. So, it looks as though it may be close to 01/11/09 by the time we get to apply for PR (having been in Oz for 2 yrs as per the rules).

My question is: do we automatically get a bridging visa if we apply on, say, 01/10/09 or do we have to take account of processing times?

I hope this all makes sense and I look forward to your replies...

hello

id be interested in anyones views in this area. I only have two years left on my SIR which runs out 24/jan 09 and i wont be travelling to live in SA till Jan 07

any advice would be most welcome.

regards

lolly

I don't think anyone knows yet as it won't be until Nov/Dec before the first SIR visa holders are able to apply for PR and then another year before the 3 years run out.

Don't forget that this visa ddn't start until July 2004.

We were told by immigration SA that if you didn't meet the requirements to apply for PR then you could get another SIR for another 3 years.

HI,
This is an extract from a page on the dimia website. further info click on the link.


DIMA HomeClient Service

Existing SIR Visa holders
If you need more time to meet the residence and/or employment criteria for a permanent visa, you can apply for a further 12-month visa.

To be eligible, you must be able to demonstrate that you have met all of the conditions on your current visa.

Note: You can only be granted a total of two subclass 495 visas. No further extensions are permitted.

DIMIA

Neil: you have already entered australia in feb 06, this is when your 3 years would have started.

Lolly: assuming you havent validated with this visa and when you enter in Jan 07 it will be the first time(in the 12 months they allow) your 3 years will start from then

CHECK your visa label for conditions. As it clearly states HOLDER PERMITTED TO REMAIN IN AUSTRALIA FOR 03 YEARS FROM DATE OF FIRST ENTRY
(the later date on the label, 3years after your must enter by date, just tells you that you cant arrive after that date

Liz

hiya liz

yep have entered and validate visa.. :huh:

went in oct 05 has had to validate before Jan 24th 06...

I have a job to go to now that starts in Jan 07 so hopefully I will stay in the job for over a year and that will fulfill one of the requirements but will be looking to extend the SIR visa to apply for PR

thanks for advice.

regards

lolly

Hi lolly,
I see so you will have to apply for an extension, as you will fall short by a few months.
At least you have a job to go to so you will be working straight away, so as long as you are employed you probably shouldn't have a problem getting the extension.
Sorry I couldnt help you with accom
all the best

Liz

Liz, I know we've discussed this before and I still believe that you're mis-interpreting the visa label. I asked our case officer the question:

I asked:

She replied:

That aside, assuming one meets the conditions to apply for PR with only a month left on the SIR, would they consider you legal while they processed your PR application??

There it is in black and white(with a bit of red)on the label


Only trying to help. Wouldn't want you to make a mistake which could be costly.
Its up to you at the end of the day.

Liz

The visa is valid for 3 years from the initial date of entry.

D

Ours is 01/11/06.

We validated Feb '06.

Neil says "Why put no entry after 01/11/09 on label? That date would have no meaning if what liz says is right"

Any boffins on here available with any thoughts please??!! :sign03:

:blink:

My understanding was that the 3 years started from when you first entered australia on the visa.

I would assume that this means that the visa is no longer valid after that date and therefore you cannot enter Australia on it after this date. You can come and go on it up to that date by which time you either need a PR visa or another SIR. (I am by no means an expert on this just adding my opinion!)

Flutterby

Hi,

Im no boffin, however its plain and simply..

SIR Visa is valid for 3 years from the date of initial entry. The label states the date of the intial entry I.E 20 Oct 2005.

Hence the must not arrive after date will be 20 oct 2008. The holder must "Live & work" in regional Adelaide for a minimum of 2 years.

An extension can be applied for, for a further 12 months under certain circumstances if you fall short of the criteria set. Basically you must have a damn good excuse!

Graham

The visa is valid for 3 years from when you first enter the country, so after that you will have no visa anymore and will have to apply for another one or leave the country if you don't. You have 2 years to fulfil the visa conditions for progression to the PR stage of the SIR visa. This means that in effect, you only have one year to permanently settle in Australia from when your visa was validated on the SIR visa if you are planning to apply for PR. The "no entry after" bit means that if your "initial" entry date is after this date, you will be refused entry... basically this date becomes irrelevant once you have permanently arrived to settle. From the date of arrival onward, all you need to worry about is that you have to be here two full years before the "final date". Am I making sense? :blink:

You have to have very, very good reasons to get an extension on the final date and have to prove that you have tried everything in your power to be here 2 years before so that you can fulfil your visa conditions... houses not selling etc. will probably not be good enough reason.. :(

Neil, to answer your original question. As long as your application is (officially)received by DIMA before the date your visa expires, you will be OK. You are permitted to remain in Australia while a decision is made on your visa application. So, as long as you make sure that the date that your application is received on (according to DIMA records, not the date you posted / delivered it) is before the "final" date, things should be fine. Remember that we will have to have medicals, police checks etc. too, so allow for that to happen before your application can be sent in (the logical assumption would be that these must be done after the 2 year period is over).

SIR Visa is valid for 3 years from the date of initial entry. The label states the date of the intial entry I.E 20 Oct 2005.[/QUOTE]

Hi
Yes our initial entry had to be done BY the 20th oct 05.

We arrived on 17th Feb 05 and have until 16th Feb 08 to make sure that we live here for 2 years and work at once 1 year in full time employment(one of us).

we will be able to apply for PR in Feb 07 and assuming it will take a few months to come through we will still be legally covered on our existing SIR Visa as the 3 years end feb 08

Liz

The date on the label is not your own personal date of initial entry - that will only be set when you actually arrive.

It is the date BEFORE WHICH you must arrive for the first time. If you do not validate the visa before this date then it will lapse. So long as you validate it before this date then you have established an actual date of entry and the rest of the visa provisions follow on from that.

I too would hate anyone to get caught out by misunderstanding this - if you are in any way uncertain then check it with an official source, Dimia or your agent if you have one, it's too important to get it wrong :blink:

Am no boffin either but agree with the majority on here in my understanding :blink:

When you get a visa you will have a date in it. This is not the start date of your visa it is the latest date you must enter Australia to validate the visa which will then start your 3 year countdown. (normally it is 1 year from meds/police checks)

You will then have three years from the date you first entered Australia until your visa expires so must have applied for another before this date.

ie your date in the visa is 1st Nov 2007 but you validate 1st May 2007 then your visa will run until 1st May 2010 NOT 1st Nov 2010.

If that does not make sense I apologise as I have a horrible throat virus thing that is going around and it has mushed my brain more than normal :P

Lisa

Thanks for that Annette.

As for the 'bone of contention'. Take a look at your grant letter and at the 'Visa Validity' section of that letter. Here's ours....

Click here

It clearly states that the visa is valid until (in our case) 01/11/09. No mention of when you first use the visa etc etc ...

That surely clears it up. :ph43r:

[edit] just got this from Alan Collett over at Go Matilda

I would suggest that even though the 'visa' may be valid, you may have other conditions which have to be fulfilled within x years of 'first entry' in order to be able to convert that visa to PR? I don't have an SIR visa so this is guesswork, but Neil, what you are quoting is so contrary to everything else that I am very suspicious about it. If Alan Collett has already replied to you, why don't you ask him this question straight - and let us all know the answer so that it is totally clear for everyone. I just have this horrible picture in my mind of some poor sod believing what is written on here and being thrown out of Aus in due course cos they've go their dates wrong :doh:

Hello everyone!

OK, here's what DIMA policy says:

"In regards to 495.511, under policy:

• the visa 495 granted, in the first instance, to the visa 495 main applicant, is to be granted to have effect for 3 years

• visas granted to family unit members are to be granted to align with the main applicant’s visa.

For the (one) subsequent visa 495 granted (if any), it is policy that the visa be granted to have effect for 12 months."

I agree this doesn't help a great deal, so I have put a call into the lady at the ASPC who oversees SIR visa processing in an effort to obtain some clarity as to the validity of SIR visas.

In the meantime, my understanding is that SIR visas are valid for 3 years from the required initial entry date, with the possibility of 1 x 12 month extension if the required period of residency and work has not been satisfied as would enable a permanent residency visa to be granted.

I'll report back.

Best regards.

Neil, OK, I see what you're talking about. The visa label in the passport says valid for 3 years from date of (your) entry, whereas the letter clearly states that the visa is valid for 3 years after the "initial entry" date (as determined by them). I haven't noticed this before.

I would err on the side of caution and take the earlier date as the cut off ... don't want to be taking any chances ... :(

Elaine, here is a document which outlines the "facts" on the SIR visa and the conditions one has to meet for PR:

SIR Fact Sheet

The Assistant Manager at SIR Visa Processing has confirmed that in the case of an offshore SIR visa application the validity of the SIR visa is 3 years from Initial Entry Date shown on the visa.

In other words, if a SIR visa is granted today with a required Initial Entry Date of (say) 31 January 2007, and I enter Australia to validate on (say) 30 November 2006, the visa is valid until 31 January 2010.

In this example, an application for the grant of the permanent residency visa, or for a 12 month SIR visa extension, must therefore be made before the end of January 2010.

Hope this has helped.

While I can see what it says from the grant letter. I have phoned SA Immigration and they assure me that my 3 years started the DAY I arrived in Australia for the first time.
Its up to the indidual how you interpret it I am going on the advice from the people who are sponsoring us (SA Govt) and what my label in the passport says.

All Liz was trying to do was help all on this site preventing any missunderstandings in the early stages.

All the best

Nick

Hi

Take a look at this

If the visa label states that the person is allowed to stay for a set period (ie. days, months or years), you will need to check the date of first entry shown on the 'ARRIVED' stamp in the passport to determine when that period expires.


Full explanation

COMPLIANCE

This is Fact

Ours says 3 years from first entry date. What does yours say?

If in doubt, send an email to the case officer who granted your visa - first name.last name@immi.gov.au

My understanding is as set out above. I would NOT be relying on the SA Government because (and with all due respect to persons involved) they are not the people who grant visas.

Best regards.

I think that Liz has just summed up the whole 'argument' with her last reply.

looks like you got the answer in black and white there straight from the horses mouth!

Angie

I think Liz should contact the case officer who issued their visas and seek clarification directly from the Department of Immigration.

Best regards.

This point seems to be getting more and more confusing.

Why is it that so many people on all forums I have read all believe it is the initial entry date thats validates and thus starts your visa time of 3 years?

So if I receive my visa with a date of Nov 2007 but I actually go in April I will have a visa that lasts 3 years 7 months rather than 3 years?

Lisa :huh:

Yep, ours says the same, which I admit does appear contrary to the grant letter and other advice.

I believe that is DIMA's intention, even though the visa label may not be very clear.

I have just emailed our case officer spelling all this out and asking for a definitive answer. I'll post again if/when she replies.

I think that maybe they have used the wrong form of words on the labels. They are a government department after all and we all know their amazing capacity for foul-ups (in the UK anyway).

Maybe because skilled visas generally have a validity that runs from the date of visa grant ...

Best regards.

hi all

just noticed this thread and read through some of the replies.

This was a question I wanted an answer to myself.

My visa granted in Jul 95

First entry was to be before Jan 24 06

validated oct 05.


I was so worried that my three years started from oct 05 therefore visa would run out oct o8, i emailed my case officer. this is her reply

As part of this condition you are required to meet that you have resided in
a cumulative total of 2 years out of the 3 years in a regional area and
that 12 months of this has been in paid, full time, employment (in a
regional area). Therefore if you were to return to Australia 2 years prior
to the expiration date of your visa, which is 25/01/2009 and reside in a
regional area for this period and also be employed for 12 months of this
time (in a regional area) then technically you would meet the visa
requirements as such.


Technically I now only have two years left on my visa from this Jan which is when i plan to go. but i do have a job to go to so im hopeing i can stay in that for a year to fulfill at least one of the requiremtns for PR.

apologies if im repeating what others have said.

regards

lolly

Can I suggest that if you are going to rely on DIMA for an answer that you get it in writing. We had terrible trouble with a visa issue earlier this year (SIR visa for newborn) and the answers to our questions altered day to day depending on who you spoke to (including managers). Eventually with Alan's help and another migration agent we got it sorted but it took weeks and many phonecalls and visits to DIMA's offices. After our situation I would not rely on what is said unless I could produce it as evidence if necessary!

Jo

Our case officer's reply to my email is below.

As I suspected, a departmental :sign53: up :clap:

She seems to be saying "As we :sign53: up by producing a grant letter and a visa label that contradict each other, you can take the grant letter as your guide".

I'm not sure I'm happy with this and will probably be asking for confirmation in the form of a traditional (signed) letter.

Perhaps another 'phone call is in order Alan, as your contact's staff are by their own admission confused. They are obviously not all singing frm the same hymn sheet.


Thank you for your email and I apologise for the inconstant information that you have been receiving.

The legislation for this visa states that if an offshore SIR visa is granted the applicant shall have 3 years from the date of first entry and if an onshore SIR visa is granted the applicant has 3 years from the date of grant as the applicant is already in Australia.

I have been confused myself until very recently as our computer system which generates the visa label is not able to predict in advance when the applicant will be arriving in Australia and so the label states “HOLDERS PERMITTED TO REMAIN IN AUSTRALIA FOR 03 YEARS FROM DATE OF FIRST ENTRY” and you will notice a "MUST NOT ARRIVE AFTER DATE" which is 3 years from the date of initial entry.

Our systems people in Canberra are currently trying to seek clarification and rectify this problem as we are not sure when all SIR applicants who have been granted a SIR visa will become unlawful.

Whilst the visa legislation states 3 years from the date of first entry you would be well within your right to abide by the instructions stated on your grant letter.

Once this matter has been resolved (although it could be several months
yet) the website will be updated to reflect this information.

Neil,

If you are happy to do so, can you forward the email to me? I can then follow up with the Assistant Manager of SIR Visas ...

Isn't it unbelievable ... ? If it wasn't potentially so serious (ie SIR visaholders potentially overstaying their visas because of DIMA incoherence) it would be laughable ...

Best regards.

Hi all,

Finally I got a reply from Skilled Migration
and this is what they have said

Dear Ms Grice,

I apologise for the delay in responding.

The policy intention is that the SIR visa granted to offshore applicants is
valid for 3 years from the date of your first arrival in Australia - in
your case 17 February 2005. So your visa is valid until 17 February 2008.
You can apply for permanent residency before the expiry of your SIR visa
provided that you have lived for 2 years and worked full-time for at least
12 months in a regional or low population growth metropolitan area. You are
also entitled to apply for a further SIR visa which would be valid for 12
month if you require more time to meet the conditions.

I hope this if of assistance.

Regards,
Asel Williams
Skilled Migration

Hope this helps

Liz

Which is completely at odds with what I was advised by the Assistant Manager of SIR visa processing ... I'm back onto it ...

Best regards.

I am inclined to agree.

If your visa is SIR & valid for 3 yrs - you must live & work min 2 yrs to apply for PR - then surely you must apply for PR & do so well BEFORE the 'valid until' date is reached.

Hope this issues resolved soon.
Angela

I have now been advised as follows:

SIR visa granted to offshore applicants is valid for 3 years from the date of your first arrival in Australia.

This means that applicants can apply for permanent residence after 2 years from date of arrival providing that they have lived for 2 years and worked full-time for at least 12 months in a regional or low population growth metropolitan area.

At the moment some of the visa label for offshore are incorrect, but have reported the matter to NatO - to be fixed.


I can only leave this with those affected to do what they have to do in ensuring they spend the required period in Australia - based on what I have now been told a validation trip starts the 3 year clock ...

Best regards.

I'm lost for words!!! :(

We have been totally mis-led by our case officer (if the advice Alan has received is correct) and certainly would not have validated when we did if we had known...

So, to be safe (i.e. not require a 1 year extentsion), we now have to arrive before 21/02/07. Highly unlikely as we still have no offer on the house...

Looks as though SA have just lost a very keen migrant family due to DIMA incompetence.

It's strange isn't it? They want to attract the right sort of people - people who's skills they need; and then seem to set about making it as difficult, complicated and confusing as possible for them! :angry:

:crying:

Not good news for us :(
Unbelievable.

My parents are holidaying in Melbourne at the moment with my son who lives there (I'm jealous), our house won't sell (I'm frustrated)......and now this SIR worry, I'm :sign53: :sign53: :sign53:

Anyone in a similar boat? :sigh: