Queensland suspend GSM visas
Following the suspension of offshore general migration skilled visas by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Queensland have just announced that they too, are to cease processing GSM visa applications.
The Queensland Government have issued a statement today which said that all offshore nomination applications for visa subclass 175 or 176 will not be processed unless the applicant can prove the application was received by the DIAC on or before 7 May 2010.
Tellingly, the Queensland Government do not say how long this suspension will last. Also there is no mention of subclass 475 (Skilled Regional Sponsored) which would lead us to believe that the Qld Government are ceasing to process these visas altogether, regardless of when the application was lodged with the DIAC.
Australian forum members are reacting with disbelief to this news, questioning the legal validity of being able to suspend all future applications for offshore GSM visas without applying a cap to the numbers first.
There are also questions being raised about the relevance of a suspension of the 175 visa since it is a Skilled Independent visa and therefore independent from state migration plans. However some clever migrants have been lodging a 175 application, then applying for state sponsorship. If state sponsorship is granted the applicant will then transfer across to a subclass 176 application. This way if their application for state sponsorship is unsuccessful, or if the waiting period is too long (it can take up to 6 months), they have their application for a 175 to fall back on.
The news from the Queensland Government is another blow to visa applicants already reeling from the suspension of certain GSM visas applications until June when the DIAC will either lift the suspension or prolong it.
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