Temporary Suspension of General Skilled Migration Applications

Direct (and verbatim) from the DIAC website:

The Australian Government has decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of certain General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa applications. This temporary measure will begin on 8 May 2010 and is expected to remain in effect until the end of 30 June 2010.

The temporary suspension applies only to primary (main) applicants for the following visa subclasses:

• Subclass 175 – Skilled Independent (Migrant) visa
• Subclass 176 – Skilled Sponsored (Migrant) visa
• Subclass 475 – Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa.

There is also a link to a Fact Sheet and FAQ.

One can only assume that the uncertainty and delay in the release of the new skilled occupation list was causing a rush of applications trying to beat the new system.

Creative commons attribution for the photograph:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktylerconk/ / CC BY 2.0