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07. 09. 2010 The NSW independents have decided to back Labor Party. The ALP will form a new Federal Government. 05. 08. 2010 The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has set new priority processing arrangements for certain skilled migration visas. The processing priorities are: 1. Visa applications from individuals who are employer sponsored under the Employer Nomination Scheme or the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. 2. Visa applications from people who are nominated by a state or territory government agency with a nominated occupation that is specified on that state or territory’s State Migration Plan. 3. Visa applications from people who have nominated an occupation on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 3 in effect from 01.07.2010. 4. All other visa applications. Our migration firm has several years of successful experience obtaining sponsorships for our clients. 16. 07. 2010 The Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Australian Taxation Office announced the DIAC/ATO Student and Temporary Working Visa Data Matching Project which will be carried out in the third quarter of this year. Records of approximately 600 thousand individuals who have applied for Visa Subclasses 417, 457, 462, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 576 and 580 between the period from 01.07.2008 to 30.06.2009 will be checked in order to address potential fraudulent activities. 01. 07. 2010 The Australian Government has introduced changes to its requirements for general skilled migration visas, the new General Skilled Migration Skilled Occupation Lists (SOL) and Employer Nomination Scheme Occupation List (ENSOL). 24. 06. 2010 The Australian Treasury announced a tightening of the restrictions on foreigners buying real estate in Australia. It is proposed that temporary residents will now have to seek approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board to buy any real estate in Australia and in addition, any such temporary residents will be required to sell their Australian property when they leave Australia. 26. 05. 2010 Frank Lowy, the Czechoslovakia born businessman was named Australia's richest person in Business Review Weekly Rich list. 18. 05. 2010 DIAC has announced a new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) for General Skilled Migration (GSM). The new SOL does not apply for non-GSM visas, such as ENS, RSMS or Subclass 457 and is proposed to commence 1 July 2010. The new list comprises 181 occupations. The old SOL had 408 occupations. The new SOL is based on ANZSCO Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations. The old list was based on ASCO Australian Standard Classification of Occupations. Some of the occupations which are no longer on the SOL include: Cook, Chef, Hairdresser, Graphic Designer. Some of the retained occupations include: Accountant, Architect, Engineers, Medical Professionals and many trades. Apart from prospective overseas migrants to Australia the announced changes will affect thousands of overseas students currently in Australia intending to apply for permanent residence. The new list is also part of an ongoing attempt by the government to decouple the link between education and immigration. The 2010-2011 Federal Budget also provides some answers for potential migrants. The 2010-2011 Migration Program will reduce the family migration program by several thousand places. There is slight increase of the available places in the business skills visa category. 08. 05. 2010 The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has announced a temporary suspension of certain General Skilled Migration visas. DIAC has not indicated when the suspension will be lifted, however it will be no earlier than the announcement of the new SOL. All offshore general skilled applications made after today will be in accordance with the occupations included on the new Skilled Occupation List, to be released later this month. 06. 04. 2010 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has appointed Tony Burke as the nation's first Population Minister, amid growing concerns the number of Australians will rise to unsustainable levels. The new population minister will be responsible for drawing up a national population strategy. Australia's population is currently on a trajectory to reach 35.9 million by 2050. 27. 03. 2010 Amendments to the relationship period for some applicants to qualify for a Partner (Migrant) Visa or a Partner (Residence) Visa: The definition of long-term partner relationship in the Migration Regulations was amended by changing the minimum spouse or de facto partner relationship period required to qualify for either a Partner (Migrant) or Partner (Residence) visa to 3 years. Amendments to various Parent Category Visas: These changes relate to applicants who do seek to satisfy the criteria for any of the following visas: Parent Contributory Parent Contributory Parent (Temporary) Aged Parent Contributory Aged Parent Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) ... and more amendments. 18. 03. 2010 The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has issued a new Legislative Instrument which imposes a cap on the number of Business Skills visas that may be granted in the 2009/2010 financial year. The affected visa subclasses are: Business Talent (Migrant) Business Owner (Provisional) Senior Executive (Provisional) Investor (Provisional) State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) State/Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Provisional) Once the specified number of these business visas have been granted, no more will be granted until after 30/06/2010. 11. 03. 2010 The unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in 02/2010, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced. 15. 02. 2010 We have received information from the Office of Immigration South Australia in regards to their new procedure applicable to all SA state sponsorship applications with a job offer. Our immigration firm has many years of experience preparing applications for the State and Territory sponsorship of Australian skilled and business visa applications. 08. 02. 2010 Changes to General Skilled Migration program. DIAC has announced important changes to the general skilled migration program. The major changes include: The Migration Occupation in Demand List is abolished as of 08 February 2010. A new Skilled Occupation List, to replace the MODL and the Critical Skills List will be introduced later in 2010. State Migration Plans will be introduced. Skilled occupations that are in demand in a State or Territory can be identified and given greater emphasis. There will be a review of the GSM Points Test. Introducing changes to the migration legislation that will allow the Minister to set a maximum number of visas for a single occupation. Changes to priority processing. ... and more. 08. 01. 2010 The new TRA Job Ready Program for onshore trade applicants is a four step process: 1. A Provisional Skills Assessment 2. A Job Ready Employment 3. A Job Ready Workplace Assessment 4. A Job Ready Final Assessment The Australian Computer Society has announced changes in the Recognition of Prior Learning skills assessment pathway. 21. 12. 2009 There is a new instrument specifying occupations for subclass 457 work visas and nominated occupational training for subclass 442 work visas and a new instrument specifying the method for calculating salary for the subclass 457 work visas. Relationships which are registered under a prescribed law of state or territory in Australia are now exempted from the requirement to live together for 12 months prior applying for a Partner visa. The following laws are prescribed: Civil Partnership Act 2008 Australian Capital Territory Relationship Act 2008 Victoria Relationship Act 2003 Tasmania The sponsors for a Prospective Marriage, Partner or Child visa applications do need to provide National Police Check where any applicant included in their application is under the age of 18. From January 2010 all General Skilled Migration visa offshore applicants with occupations specified by the DIAC must have a skills assessment in the same occupation as that in which they have been working for a minimum of 12 months in the last 24 months immediately prior to their visa application being lodged. The new Australian citizenship test will assess all potential citizens in respect of their understanding of Australian civics and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. The new test will contain 20 questions and take up to 45 minutes to complete. 02. 11. 2009 From 1 January 2010, VETASSESS will be changing its requirements for skills assessments for migration purposes. VETASSESS is the authority in Australia currently responsible for assessing of more than 150 occupations for the purposes of skilled migration. The announced changes will impact on those seeking to migrate to Australia with general professional occupations. We believe this is the first of many changes to the General Skilled Migration program over the next 12 months. From 1 January 2010 will come into effect also the Job Ready Test for onshore GSM applicants if they nominate a trade occupation. The Australian Government wants to ensure that new migrants to Australia are able to participate in the labour market in the area of their skills and experience. 23. 10. 2009 The Government of Western Australia has introduced changes to its requirements for general skilled migration visa sponsorship. The Government of South Australia has altered its sponsorship eligibility occupations lists for Temporary and Permanent skilled Australian Visas. 24. 09. 2009 The Australian Capital Territory Government has introduced changes to its requirements for general skilled migration visa sponsorship. The Government of South Australia has altered its sponsorship eligibility occupations lists for Temporary and Permanent skilled Australian Visas. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship DIAC has changed skilled visa processing priorities. For many applicants with already lodged applications these changes have an immediate impact. The most affected visa subclasses are the following categories: Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Skill Matching Subclass 134 Skilled – Independent Subclass 136 Skilled – State/Territory-nominated Independent Subclass 137 Skilled – Australian-sponsored Subclass 138 Skilled – Designated Area-sponsored Subclass 139 Skilled – Independent Subclass 175 Skilled – Independent Subclass 176 Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 475 Skilled – Graduate Subclass 485 Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 487 Skilled – Independent Regional Subclass 495 Skilled – Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) Subclass 496 Graduate – Skilled Subclass 497 Skilled – Onshore Independent New Zealand Citizen Subclass 861 Skilled – Onshore Australian-sponsored New Zealand Citizen Subclass 862 Skilled – Onshore Designated Area-sponsored New Zealand Citizen Subclass 863 Skilled – Independent Overseas Student Subclass 880 Skilled – Australian-sponsored Subclass 881 Skilled – Designated Area-sponsored Overseas Student Subclass 882 Skilled – Independent Subclass 885 Skilled – Sponsored Subclass 886 The following visa subclasses are exempt from priority processing: Skilled – Recognised Graduate Subclass 476 Skilled – Designated Area – Sponsored (Residence) Subclass 883 Skilled – Regional Subclass 887 As almost always, DALGETY's recommendation is to lodge a visa application as soon as possible. These changes are not the last and the expected further tightening of the immigration program over the next 2 years will very likely mean more obstacles for the prospective (still undecided) migrants to Australia. 18. 09. 2009 The Australian government has introduced changes in relation to citizenship. Submissions in regards to the Australian Citizenship Amendment Bill 2009 closed in 07/2009. The Sponsorship and Balance of Family test changes for Parent Visas were introduced. Legislative amendments to 457 and GSM visas do apply from 09/2009. Changes include a recently introduced criterion for approval as a Standard Business Sponsor and important adjustments to sponsorship rules. 11. 09. 2009 Sections Criteria and New Zealand have been updated. 31. 08. 2009 Sections FAQ and Disclaimer have been updated. The Australian Capital Territory Government introduced two new occupations in demand lists and new General Skilled Migration sponsorship rules. 14. 08. 2009 The Australian Government started the anticipated Migration Occupations in Demand List review. The MODL review will assess the central skills targeting mechanism for the General Skilled Migration GSM program. 29. 07. 2009 Some of the external links from our website are temporarily unavailable. The new website of the MARA is being updated. 10. 07. 2009 Seasonally adjusted unemployment in Australia in the first six months of 2009: January - 4.8% February - 5.3% March - 5.7% April - 5.5% May - 5.7% June - 5.8% Source: The Australian Bureau of Statistics 07. 07. 2009 The Queensland Government has introduced changes to its requirements for general skilled migration visa sponsorship. The most important selection criteria do include: English language skills, work experience requirements and sufficient settlement funds. 19. 06. 2009 The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship DIAC have announced a number of changes to application forms and also changes to visa application fees taking effect from 1 July 2009. General Skilled Migration Visas: new fee is AUD$ 2,525 Provisional Business and Investor Visas: new fee is AUD$ 3,360 Contributory Aged Parent Visas Residence: new fee (both instalments) is AUD$ 36,855 Changes in the forms reflect mainly legislation changes to recognise same sex relationships and changes to the health declaration questions. 12. 05. 2009 Highlights of 2009 Federal Budget on the Migration Program: The Skilled Migration Program will be cut to 108,000 places for the 2009 - 10 program. The Government will increase the English language requirement for trades occupation to IELTS 6.0 from 1 July 2009 for offshore applicants and 1 January 2010 for onshore applicants. 02. 05. 2009 The beginning of 2009 meant an increase in the workload for DALGETY. The first reason is legislative and sponsorship changes that were introduced by the Australian federal and state governments starting in December 2008 and the second reason is that our immigration firm in Zilina, Slovakia was one of the migration consultancies in the world that were selected by the Australian authorities to undertake a partial financial audit. This audit started on 01.12.2008 and was successfully completed on 14.04.2009. Our thanks go to our clients who gave us permission to use their personal files and data during the period of this audit, especially: Alena, London; Lucie, Prague; Michal, Zvolen and to our accounting department in Zilina, Slovakia. Visa cases with work permits that our firm just successfully completed in recent days of April include: a Hotel Manager for a Slovak client from Malta and a Graphic Designer for a Czech client from Prague. Among the occupations that we are currently working on and where we utilise our experience are also: Accountants; Landscape Architect; Office Manager; General Manager; Mechanical Engineers; Civil Engineer; Information and Communication Technology Professionals; Electrician and others. We have noticed an increasing interest to migrate to Australia by teachers. Please note that this occupation requires a score of at least 7.0 in each individual component of the Academic IELTS test. We have also successfully completed work on various types of Spouse Visas where one partner must be an Australian citizen or Permanent Resident and on a prospective marriage visa. One of the most pleasant aspects of a migration agent‘s work is the opportunity to meet interesting people. In the previous few months, we have started to do work for several multi national couples: Australian - Slovak, Australian - Czech, Slovak - Czech, Slovak - Turk, Thai - Czech, Slovak - Japanese, Czech - South African, Slovak - South African, and also we have 2 top clients who are elite in their field of work and can demonstrate their distinguished talent. To be able to help these people to start a new life in Australia is a huge responsibility. The changes in the processing and requirements for a successful application for an Australian visa, mean that the best processing times are currently achieved with applications supported by an employer, state or territory sponsorship. 09. 04. 2009 The South Australian Government has removed the following occupations from the SA sponsorship list: Construction Project Manager Biochemist Life Scientists Agricultural Scientist Agricultural Advisor Statistician Health Information Manager Social Professionals Hairdresser The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has announced significant changes to the Subclass 457 work visas program including: 1. The indexation of the minimum salary level (MSL). 2. The implementation of a market based minimum salary for all new and existing 457 visa holders from mid September 2009. 3. Increasing the existing minimum language requirement from 4.5 IELTS to 5.0 IELTS for 457 visa applicants in trade occupations and chefs. 4. Introducing formal skills assessment from 1 July 2009 for 457 visa applicants from high risk immigration countries in trade occupations and chefs. 5. Introducing a requirement that employers seeking access to the 457 visa program have a strong record of, or demonstrated commitment to, employing local labour and non-discriminatory employment practices. 6. The development of training benchmarks to clarify the existing requirement on employers to demonstrate a commitment to training local labour. 7. The extension of the labour agreement pathway to all ASCO 5 - 7 occupations. 16. 03. 2009 The Department of Immigration and Citizenship DIAC has announced cuts to the 2008-09 permanent skilled migration program intake from 133 500 to 115 000 migrants. This reduction will be achieved by the removal of many trade skills from the Critical Skills List and by affecting the priority processing of a skilled visa applications. The fact that DIAC is now only processing General Skills Migration applications which are State/Territory sponsored, or which have nominated occupations on the new Critical Skills List does not mean that other Skilled Migration applications cannot be lodged. GSM applications which are not on the processing priority list can still be lodged and successfully processed. The MODL list remains unchanged and the additional points that can be awarded are still in place. The Government of South Australia has decided that due to this year's significant increase in applications for immigration to Adelaide they temporarily suspend the Concessional English provision program until further notice and several occupations were and will be removed from the SA Occupations Lists. The Government of Victoria has suspended until further notice the processing of all applications for the Skilled Sponsored Residence Program for trade occupations. This is due to DIAC investigation of several organisations in relation to work references and education certificates. Good employment opportunities are currently in Canberra. The ACT Government sponsors skilled migrants, with identified skills in demand, to independently migrate to Australia to live and work in Canberra on the Permanent Visa Subclass 176. The Government of Tasmania has temporarily closed sponsorship operations due to a policy review. 01. 03. 2009 Section Criteria has been updated. The Queensland Government has changed its sponsorship eligibility occupations lists for Temporary and Permanent skilled Australian Visas. The South Australian Government Financing Authority reintroduced capital investment bonds pathway. Applicants applying for the Australian General Skilled Migration Programme Visa who already submitted their application can now, again, receive bonus points towards their application by investing for a year in a nominated Australian bond. The Australian Government has approved the expected stimulus package to inject investment into the Australian economy. The bonus is also available to migrants when the following are satisfied: His/her 2007 - 2008 taxable income is not more than AUD$ 100 000 and he/she is/was an Australian resident for tax purposes during 2007 - 2008. The amount will be: AUD$ 250 - if the taxable income was less than AUD$ 100 000 AUD$ 600 - if the taxable income was less than AUD$ 90 000 AUD$ 900 - if the taxable income was less than AUD$ 80 000 This bonus is in addition to the Economic Security Strategy Payment of AUD$ 1 000 for each eligible Family Tax Benefit Part A child. January 2009 The Government of South Australia and Immigration SA announced changes to the list of occupations that are valid for sponsorship of immigrants. Any occupation that is not on one of the revised lists is not considered for sponsorship. The Western Australian Government has announced changes to its sponsorship for on shore Skilled Migration. These changes include the requirement that all on shore graduates who have completed their studies outside Western Australia must have a formal job offer in a skilled occupation prior to submitting an application for sponsorship. This notice does not affect graduates who have lodged applications for State sponsorship prior to this notice and those who have completed 2 years of study within Western Australia. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship DIAC has announced it is establishing a Critical Skills List. Applications from people with a successful skills assessment and their nominated occupation on the CSL will receive processing priority. State and Territory governments have been offered a quota of 500 places in 2008-09 to sponsor skilled migrants in occupations beyond their existing lists of eligible occupations. Migration to Australia in 2008. The number of New Zealanders migrating to Australia set another record. 47,800 people left New Zealand to live in Australia in the last 12 months. Around 13,200 people migrated to New Zealand from Australia. Australia recorded its fastest population growth since 1989. As at 30 June 2008, Australia's population had grown to 21,374,000, an increase of 1.7% or 360,000 people. Net overseas migration contributed 213,500 people to Australia's population and natural increase contributed 145,500. Perth, Western Australia continues to record the fastest population growth (2.7%), followed by Brisbane, Queensland and Darwin, the Northern Territory (2.3%); Melbourne, Victoria (1.8%); Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory (1.3%); Adelaide, South Australia; Sydney, New South Wales (1.1%) and Hobart, Tasmania (1.0%) for the last financial year. Queensland and Western Australia received the most people from net interstate migration, gaining 23,100 and 3,800 people respectively from the other states and territories. The states that lost the most people to net interstate migration include New South Wales (down 21,900), South Australia (down 4,400) and Victoria (down 2,500). (Source: The Australian Bureau of Statistics.) December 2008 Section Our fees has been updated. The Australian Government is proposing significant changes to the Subclass 457 program and to other employer sponsored visa categories. The changes will be in Migration Regulations which are to be announced. These changes will very likely include: New lists of skilled occupations Pathway to permanent residence for those who have the required English language skills Replacement of the Minimum Salary Level (MLS) with market rates of pay Limit visa holders to a maximum of 8 years on temporary visas Visa applicants requiring for skilled migration qualification and skills assessment in their nominated occupation: Welfare Worker will soon need to have evidence of a proficiency of not less than 7.0 in the Academic version of the International English Language Testing System IELTS. In addition to the MODL occupations, there are excellent job opportunities in several Australian states for skilled immigrants with the following IT specialisations: Power Building, Delphi, Lotus Notes, Progress, Power House, COBOL, Networking/LAN/WAN, IPX, SNA, Advanced Web Design, CORBA, HP-UX, VMS, Systems analysis, PKI, E-Commerce security, GIS, DB2, Sybase SQL Server. The Adult Migrant English (Education) Program is under review. November 2008 In a Senate budget hearing last month, Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans said that the country may see as a result of the global financial crisis a decrease in its migration quota. This financial year Migration Program is set at 190,300 places and I'd envisage certainly that the migration program for next year would be smaller than this year, he stated. The Opposition has called for an immediate cutback of 50,000 skilled migrants. We advise all prospective migrants to process their skills recognition applications and visa applications before the Australian Migration Program is reduced and before it is even more difficult to move to Australia. Changes to the Australian Citizenship Act. The Federal Government doubled the First Home Owners Grant. The first home buyers grant can be tripled for the purchase of newly constructed homes that meet state energy efficiency and sustainability standards. Graduate Temporary Visa subclass 485 requires proficiency in English at the time of application. This visa allows students to remain in Australia for 18 months to gain skilled work experience. October 2008 The Government of South Australia allows applicants for selected Australian Visas, nominating selected occupations in demand, to qualify for migration to South Australia under the Concessional English Program. September 2008 The new TRA Migration Assessment Policy MAP will not commence on 1st of September 2008. TRA have advised that the introduction of new Skills Streams has been delayed indefinitely. The second instalment of the Visa Application Charge for the Contributory Parent visa category will increase from the end of October 2008. Parent visa is suitable for a parent of a child who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. August 2008 It is more expensive to migrate to Australia as a permanent or temporary resident. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has increased visa application fees by about 2.3% and these changes came into effect in July 2008. Potential migrants to Australia should expect similar increases each year, in line with changes to the Australian Consumer Price Index. More details of the new planned Australian skilled migration TRA pathway for trade skills visa applicants have been released. For more information, you may contact our office. Three new Australian Centres of Excellence have been set up in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth for processing of Business 457 Visa applications for employers wishing to hire overseas workers. The 457 temporary visa allows Australian employers to employ skilled workers from abroad to fill occupations in Australia on a temporary basis for between three months and four years. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has opened a new Skilled Processing Centre in Brisbane. This Centre will process all onshore general skilled migration visa applications that are lodged electronically. Our clients in Australia know that the onshore visa subclasses affected are: Subclass 885: Skilled – Independent Subclass 886: Skilled – Sponsored Subclass 887: Skilled - Regional Subclass 485: Skilled – Graduate Subclass 487: Skilled – Regional Sponsored We will continue to advise our clients carefully about whether to lodge their applications in paper form or electronically. Both ways of lodgement have its own advantages and disadvantages. July 2008 The new Australian Federal Budget has added 31,000 additional places to the existing immigration program. The overall migration program is 190,300 new migrants. Employers in Australia and applicants for 457 Business Visa are aware there has been an increase in the MSL - Minimum Salary Level which employer must pay when sponsoring Subclass 457 Visa employee. With effect from 01 August 2008 there is an increase of the standard MSL to AUD$ 43,440 per year and the professionals MSL to AUD$ 59,480 per year. There are currently more than 68,000 primary 457 visa holders working in Australia. The Baby bonus - new born child allowance increased from AUD$ 4,258 to AUD$ 5,000 for each child. There have been changes in the regulations affecting overstayers. People who stay in Australia after their visa has expired are in Australia illegally. They are usually subject to a ban which prevents them applying to return to Australia for a certain period. May 2008 The average yearly salary/wage for a 457 visa holder is currently AUD$ 71,600 as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Our Sydney based clients now have the opportunity to take advantage of reserved places for their IELTS test. Processing Times. The time to process application for visa vary between various visa categories and also within one visa category, depending on individual applicant's circumstances. Partner - Spouse Visa applications lodged at the Australian Embassy in Vienna, Austria do take around 7 weeks and the General Skilled Migration applications processed in Adelaide, South Australia are taking 7 to 14 months. March 2008 Another Australia Needs Skills Expo will be taking place in London, UK on the 15th and 16th of March, 2008. If you are interested in immigrating to Australia, you can attend the expo and meet Australian employers, talk with government officials wanting to recruit skilled workers, and find out more about Australia. Sydney based College well known for offering courses that help international students get permanent visas failed to renew its registration with the Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board, Australia. This fact in reality means that over 900 hundred students do face losing thousands of dollars and losing their chance to apply for Permanent Residency in Australia. The Prime Minister announced that the Federal Government is considering Visa scheme that would allow 15,000 housing workers into Australia. It is expected most workers would come from the United States of America. The ABS statistical data show Melbourne will overtake Sydney as Australia's biggest city by 2028. Melbourne is growing at nearly 1,500 people a week. February 2008 Australia welcomed over 14,000 new citizens on Australia Day of this year, celebrated annually across the country on 26 January. This year's new citizens originate from 114 countries. On Australia Day last year, 12,500 people from 111 countries became Australian citizens. As an immediate measure, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has announced that the Skilled Migration program will be increased by 6,000 places in the financial year 2007-08. The increase will be made up of permanent employer sponsored visas and General Skilled Migration Visas. This will bring the total number of permanent visas granted under the Skill Stream program to 108,500 in 2007-08. Australia also continues negotiations with several countries to expand the reciprocal Working Holiday visa program for young people. The number of people on Working Holiday visas has grown to 126,800 in 2006-07. January 2008 General Skilled Migration update for 2008: The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship granted 148 thousand visas to migrants and 132 thousand temporary visas in the financial year 2006-07. Median earnings of skilled migrants are $47,100 a year after their first 18 months in Australia. Skilled migrants living in regional areas do have median incomes around $50,300 a year after their first 18 months in Australia. English language skills test results must now be provided at the time of lodgement of a GSM General Skilled Migration application. (previously after lodgement) There are various considerations, recognitions, concessions and combinations regarding the testing requirements. Check with us to receive accurate information relevant to your individual situation and circumstances. The qualifications and skills assessment process is now more complicated. This is especially applicable to trade applicants. It is expected that a revised format of the now removed TRA Skill Pathway D will be available soon. There is now more accurate definition regarding the 2 years study rule. (if you have completed Australian studies in the past or you study in Australia at present.) December 2007 Senator Christopher Evans was sworn in as the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on 03. 12. 2007. October 2007 From 01. 10. 2007 persons wishing to become Australian citizens do need to successfully pass Citizenship Test. The test comprises 20 questions from the Citizenship Test Resource Book, Becoming an Australian Citizen. Applicants younger than 18 years or older than 60 years are not required to sit the test. Those who do not pass the Citizenship Test, can sit it again. September 2007 New general skilled migration visas subclasses - commencing on 01. 09. 2007. Subclass 175 Skilled Independent Subclass 176 Skilled Sponsored Subclass 475 Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 476 Skilled Recognised Graduate Subclass 485 Skilled Graduate Subclass 487 Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 885 Skilled Independent Subclass 886 Skilled Sponsored Subclass 887 Skilled Regional All applications for General Skilled Migration Visas made on or after 01. 09. 2007 will be assessed under new requirements. Some of the important changes: Applicants who have proficient English skills (minimum score of 7 in each of the four components of the IELTS exam) will be awarded 25 points. Applicants are able to claim MODL points only if they have been employed in that occupation or closely related occupation for at least 12 months in the past four years. Applicants can claim 10 points where they have recently completed a total of at least 12 months skilled (SOL) Australian work experience or completed a "Professional Year". March 2007 The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs officially changed its name on 30. 01. 2007 to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. The department's new acronym is DIAC. The Australian Citizenship Bill was approved by Parliament on 26. 02. 2007. This is the most significant overhaul of citizenship laws in more than 50 years. Under the new legislation all migrants will now have to reside 4 years lawfully in Australia before becoming eligible for citizenship. Previously there was reference to 2 years of permanent residence. October 2006 Revised Migration Occupations Demand List - MODL. Several occupations were added to the list: Electrical Engineer Mechanical Engineer Computing professionals with the following specialisation: C++/C#/C, Java, J2EE, Oracle, PeopleSoft Child care coordinator July 2006 Australian Citizenship Bills. There are number of proposed changes to the Australian Citizenship legislation, including: an applicant for Australian citizenship will be required to have been present in Australia as a permanent resident for a total of 3-4 years in the five years before making the application, including a total of one year in the two years before the application is made. (residence exemptions still apply) Subclass 457 Visa changes. Interdependent partner and his/her dependent children can be included as secondary applicants. Skilled Designated Area Sponsored Visa. New two-stage Visa introduced. May 2006 Migration Program (non-humanitarian) for 2006 - 2007. The total migration program in the Skilled Categories offers 97 500 places. The total migration program in the Family Categories offers 46 000 places. The total migration program for special eligibility migrants offers 500 places. Planned changes to the Skilled Categories. English language proficiency - increase the base level which must be demonstrated by the main applicants. Bonus points for English - increase the allocation of bonus points for English above the base level. Skilled work experience - greater emphasis in the points test. New minimum salaries. The minimum salaries paid to temporary skilled workers in Australia has been increased. The new minimum salary level for most professions is AUD$ 41 850. The minimum salary level in the Information Technology sector is now AUD$ 57 300. The average salary of the Subclass 457 Visa holders is currently AUD$ 65 000. The Australian Department of Education, Science and Training released new Good practice guide for the assessment and recognition of overseas qualifications and skills for the purposes of migration. April 2006 Section New Zealand has been updated. Regional migration. New list of post codes defining regional Australia. New list of regional certifying bodies. |
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