The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has announced that Subclass 175 visa applications will be ‘capped and ceased’ effective 22 September 2015.
This is an exceptional announcement which means that all undecided applications for this Permanent Residency visa subclass will be returned to applicants with a refund of the Visa Application Charge. Affected applicants will be notified by the Department.
The Subclass 175 visa was an offshore skilled migration visa that closed to new applications on 1 July 2012, following the introduction of the new SkillSelect Visas. The decision to return these visa applications to applicants by force of law ends years of uncertainty for these applicants who had been awaiting visa grant.
Affected applicants who are still interested in migration to Australia should consider one of the current Skilled Visa options.