Hi was just wondering if anyone knew if it was possible to leave Oz after lodging PR application. I am currently on a temp visa here and hope to apply for PR next year, we have a wedding in the UK which would mean leaving for 3/4 weeks just after we have lodged our application.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Yes you can leave. If you have applied for an offshore general skilled visa then you will have to be out of the country at the time of visa grant anyway.

If you have been allocated a case officer by the time you go it might be worth letting them know your travel plans just in case.

Thank you for your prompt reply Colin, I will actually be lodging my application on shore though as I live in Australia, do you know if that will make a difference.

Regards

I appreciate that you live in Oz but is the visa you are applying for a general skilled visa ?? If so then the visa is considered as an 'OFFSHORE' visa.

Yes you can lodge it while you are in Oz but you will have to leave the country again when it is ready to be granted. You are not allowed to be physically present in Oz when it is finally approved !

However if it is a different kind of visa eg an Employer Nomination Sponsored (ENS) visa then this is a different issue. You can be onshore at time of visa grant - in fact DIAC need to know where you will be as you cannot be out of OZ in this case !