Key terms: Australian Student Visa - Subclass 500 - Visa application requirements - financial evidence - Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) criterion

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has announced that the immigration risk rating for all education providers and countries will be updated on 31 March 2017. The immigration risk rating determines the financial, English and other evidences required for the student visa application under the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF).

The DIBP has used data of student visa applications lodged between 1 January to 31 December 2016 to assign new immigration risk ratings to education providers and countries. It is also mentioned that the next update will happen in September 2017, using application data from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.

To determine the type of financial, English and other evidence required for your student visa application you will need to use the online Document Checklist Tool which can be found on the Subclass 500 Student Visa webpage on the DIBP website.

If you need clarification on the evidence required or your circumstances, please contact a Registered Migration Agent to know more before applying. You need to be aware of the new requirements (if any) when you lodge your student visa application after 31 March 2017.

Sources:

http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/500-

 

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

It looks like the DIBP will be having a periodic revision of the immigration risk ratings for the Student visa programme. This may be a response to the media reports of student visa scams by education providers 1-2 years ago.

While the immigration risk rating affects the type of evidence required, you are reminded that the basic requirements for the student visas include financial capacity, English and also the meeting of the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) criteria. At Work Visa Lawyers we have received an increase of enquiries from applicants who have had their student visa applications refused. Most of the refusals were on the grounds of not meeting the GTE requirements so I would recommend paying attention to meet the GTE requirements in addition to financial and English requirements.

This information is accurate on 28 March 2017

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

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

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The newly elected Premier of Western Australia (WA) has moved to remove WA from the subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa programme. On Friday the 17 of March 2017, Mark McGowan MP submitted a letter to the Australian Prime Minister with the following:

"I would like to request that Perth be removed from the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)."

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

Results for the SkillSelect invitation round on 1 March 2017 have been published. Here is a summary of the results:

• 1832 Skilled Independent visa invitations were issued (up from 1253 in the previous round)
  • applications with 60 points or more were invited
  • applications submitted 1 March 2017 have been invited
• 32 Skilled Regional Sponsored visa invitations were issued (up from 27 in the previous round)
  • applications with 60 points or more were invited
  • applications submitted 28 February 2017 were invited

State Sponsorship and RSMS for Western Australia no longer available!

The state of Western Australia (WA) recently concluded its state elections with Labor winning the election and bringing a change to state government. The new premier-elect Mark McGowan now leads the largest state of Australia and has listed the changes he wishes to implement for the state of WA.

In various news articles there has been mention of the following:

“McGowan has also promised to tear up WA’s skilled migration list that allows employers to bring in workers on 457 temporary visas. It’s a key part of Labor’s union-backed push to create more local jobs in a state with the nation’s highest unemployment rate.”

- The Australian, 13 March 2017 –

Hosted by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA), the Friendship Cup continues to grow each year. The cricket friendly is a symbol of multiculturalism and some of the great healthy activities that South Australia has to offer.

The day got off to a tough start with a change of venue due to the heavy rains affecting the grounds. As a result the matches were moved and played at Victoria Park. The change in plans however did not dampen the great skills and enthusiasm which were on display on the day.

A total of 12 teams played in the Cup, representing Sri Lankan, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Indian, Pakistani, Afghan, the Australian Army and SAPOL community groups. Immigration SA and Adelaide University also participated in the 1-day event.

In our earlier article we explained that the South Australia (SA) State Government started its policy to impose contributory fees for each school child of 457 visa holders, following Western Australia (WA), New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). By January 2018 all 457 visa holders in SA will have to pay the contributory fees for each child in school. Depending on the number of children and your household income, the contributory fees can be in excess of thousands of dollars per year.

Starting from 1 March 2017, applicants from Vietnam can now apply for the Work and Holiday visa to travel and work in Australia at the same time. The visa is valid for up to a year with a second application possible to extend your stay for another year. Read more about applying for a second Work and Holiday visa here.

The subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa is for young travellers aged 18 to 30 from the following countries:

Key terms:  457 visa – labour agreement – employer sponsored visas – migration policy changes

The Fast Food Industry Labour Agreement established in 2012 has been scrapped by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. This will result in significant reductions of 457 skilled visas issued to fast food businesses. More than 500 skilled worker visas were approved for fast food businesses over the past four years.

The 457 visa programme has been under the microscope of the Federal Government ever since the reported visa abuse of 7-11 workers. In our earlier article we talked about the possible scrutiny of specific industries for the employer sponsored visa programme, which includes:

• the 457 visa
• the Employer Nomination Scheme ENS subclass 186 visa
• the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme RSMS subclass 187 visa

We believe that there will be ongoing changes to the employer sponsored visa programme specific to a few industries such as hospitality (Café or Restaurant Managers) and low-level generic occupations such as Customer Service Managers and Project or Program Administrators.

2020 UPDATE for Partner Visa Processing Times is available here: https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/news/all/2020-australian-partner-visa-processing-times.html

2018 Partner Visa Australian Processing Times For The 801 Visa. Refusals For Partner And Spouse 801 and 820 Visas Increasing. Why Your Partner/Spouse/Family Visa Is Taking A Long Time. 

2018 UPDATE For Partner Visa Processing Times: Increased Partner Visa Refusals for Partner Visa Subclass 801 and Partner visa subclass 820. Partner Visa Application Points Calculator and Changes That Affect Processing Times.

Australia Partner Visas continue to face long processing times and increased scrutiny by the DIBP

A recent query to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) in relation to a 2^nd stage Partner visa (subclass 801) application has resulted in the following response:

“The current processing time for Permanent Partner (subclass 801) visas is 12 to 18 months from your eligibility date.”

The processing times for the Temporary Partner (subclass 820) visas are also listed as 12 to 18 months on the DIBP website.

The eligibility date refers to the date you become eligible for processing of the permanent partner visa, which is usually just before two years after you lodged your initial partner visa application. You can find out if you are eligible by using the DIBP Partner (Permanent) Calculator.

This means that a typical partner visa applicant will have to:

• wait 12 to 18 months before the temporary partner (subclass 820) visa is granted
• wait another 6 to 12 months before you can apply for a permanent partner (subclass 801) visa
• wait another 12 to 18 months before you receive your permanent partner (subclass 801) visa

You will only receive a permanent partner (subclass 801) visa after 36 to 42 months’ (3 to 3.5 years) time!