There has been a significant drop in Australia’s migrant intake this financial year so far, and the total numbers are expected to fall short of planned figures. The declining trend is continuing on from the last financial year, where overall visa approvals were down from the planned 190,000 to 183,000.

The migration program has been at a constant level (at 190,000) since 2012-13. Taking into account the actual permanent visas granted to 30 April 2018 of 138,086, it is estimated that the number of visas granted in total this 2017-18 financial year will likely be closer to 165,000. This is a significant drop from previous years and is the lowest in seven years.

The decrease is represented in most of the visa categories, however the drop is greatest in skilled independent and employer sponsored work visas. 

IELTS has a new test format available to students - computer-delivered IELTS, which has been designed to make it easier for students to take the test at their convenience on a desktop computer.

The IELTS test is offered in two formats, IELTS Academic and General Training. Computer-delivered test takers will be tested on the following components:

• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing

All aspects of the computer based test are the same as the paper based test, including question types, timings, content and marking. 

Key terms: SkillSelect – Invitation to Apply – Skilled Independent subclass 189 - Skilled Regional Provisional subclass 489 – Expression of Interest – Points Test

Results for the latest SkillSelect invitation round on 23 May 2018 have been published. Here is a summary of the results:

• 300 Skilled Independent visa invitations were issued
  • applications with 75 points or more were invited
  • applications submitted 18 May 2018 have been invited
• 5 Skilled Regional Sponsored visa invitations were issued
  • applications with 80 points or more were invited
  • applications submitted 26 April 2018 were invited 

Both the Victorian and Queensland Governments have announced that they are no longer accepting new Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) or Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 489) nomination applications due to a high volume of applications in the system causing a backlog.

Also, in South Australia (SA) there will be changes to General Skilled Migration (GSM) requirements and Regional Certifying Body (RCB) advice applications for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Subclass 187 visa - Direct Entry stream.

The Australian Government had previously announced that it would be making changes to some of the requirements for parent visas. The most significant changes relate to the minimum income requirement for assurers (mostly the children) of visa applicants. The visas that would have been affected by these changes are both the temporary and permanent versions of the contributory parent visa (143 and 173), the contributory aged parent visa (864 and 884) and the non-contributory parent visa (103 and 804), as well as the ‘remaining relative’ (835) visa. 

Under the changes, a single person wanting to sponsor their two parents would have needed an annual income of $86,607, up from $35,793, while a couple sponsoring two parents would need a combined income of $115,476.

The TSS 482 visa was introduced on 18 March 2018. It replaces the 457 visa which will no longer be granted.

UPDATE: Since writing this article we have released more information on the TSS 482 visa. See the links below for more information. 

Top 10 Facts You Need to Know About the New Australian 482 Visa"

Video: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know About the New Australian 482 Visa

What are the main features of the TSS Visa?

The Temporary Skills Shortage Visa subclass 482 is a short term work visa.

The TSS allows approved employers (sponsors) to nominate approved positions from the occupation list for overseas workers to fill.

The overseas workers must have the required levels of skills and English to be granted the visa.

The features of the TSS as outlined by the Department fact sheet include:

Friday, 12 January 2018

457, RSMS and ENS visa News | Partner Visa News | Australia Immigration Department News | State Sponsorship News | Citizenship | English Requirements News

Welcome to 2018! The year of 2017 had the most changes and announcements on Immigration Policy that I can remember. Here is our recap of the significant changes to the migration programme for Australia in 2017 and some of the discussions and ongoing developments for 2018.

The Immigration News in 2017 has been dominated by the announcements in April 2017 regarding the 457 and skilled occupation list changes and the proposed changes to Australian Citizenship application requirements.

The planning levels for permanent visas continue to be significant, at 190,000 permanent visas to be granted. The planning levels control the numbers of Australian permanent visas that are granted each year. If application numbers exceed planning levels, expect a longer processing time for your visa application.

I am going to make comments below about news in relation to a wide range of visas including business, skilled, visitor and family visas.

Accounting & ICT Professionals need more than 60 points

The SkillSelect invitation round results has been released on 18 January 2017. Based on the result, we can see that the majority invitations by points score are given to the Skilled - Independent (subclass 189) visa applicants. Whilst the Skilled - Regional Provisional (subclass 489) visa requires the same minimum point score of 60 as the 189 visa, it is evident that 189 visa applications gets the priority invitation.

In the last invitation round, Accountants require 70 points score while ICT Professional requires 65 points. The list of ICT Professional are as follows:

• 225211 - ICT Account Manager
• 261111 - ICT Business Analyst
• 225212 - ICT Business Development Manager
• 313112 - ICT Customer Support Officer
• 135199 - ICT Managers nec
• 135112 - ICT Project Manager
• 263211 - ICT Quality Assurance Engineer
• 621211 - ICT Sales Assistant
• 225213 - ICT Sales Representative
• 262112 - ICT Security Specialist
• 263299 - ICT Support and Test Engineers nec
• 263212 - ICT Support Engineer
• 313199 - ICT Support Technicians nec
• 263213 - ICT Systems Test Engineer
• 223211 - ICT Trainer

Read more on the current crisis for Accountant looking to apply for skilled migration  or find out more on the requirements of 70 points to receive an invitation to apply.

The Chinese New Year is being celebrated across the globe with hundreds of millions of people gathering with their friends and family to welcome the Year of the Rooster.

According to the Chinese zodiac, people born in the Year of the Rooster are brave, responsible and punctual.

The Lunar New Year, which officially starts on 28 January 2016 is traditionally marked by riotous displays of fireworks and countless firecrackers. The celebration lasts for 15 days.

The Lantern Festival which is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese celendar also marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations.

Here at Work Visa Lawyers, we would like to wish all our Chinese clients，friends and colleagues a good health and fortune in the Year of the Rooster

May the Year of the Rooster brings you abundance of happiness and success.

恭祝大家新春愉快！祝大家在新的一年里身体健康，万事顺心，合家欢乐

Source:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-28/lunar-new-year-rooster-celebrations-kick-off-around-asia/8219002

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as Migration Review Tribunal, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956

The Minister of Immigration has announced his intentions to make test tougher

In a Radio interview with 2GB on 2nd January, the Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton said:

“The question we face is whether or not we have the right test, the right questions ... whether or not people know Don Bradman’s batting average is a true test of whether or not somebody shares an Australian value,”

He went on to say:

“The vast majority of people who want to become an Australian citizen embrace these ­values, but under the current ­arrangements people who don’t can still end up with the same valued prize of citizenship."

“My view is people who don’t embrace these tangible values shouldn’t expect automatic citizenship.” (source, The Australian, 3 January 2017, Joe Kelly)

It seems that the Minister for Immigration is planning to make the Australian Citizenship test more difficult. At the present time there is no details on what changes are being planned.

The White Australia Policy and what we can learn from it