December 2011 - News, Views and Clues from Migration Plus
It has been an eventful last few months, with many changes to the Student visa programme thanks to DIAC's implementation of the Knight Review changes, which include reduced financial requirements and a new 'genuine temporary entrant' requirement. There will be further changes forthcoming over the next two years. We also have news about alternative English tests for Students, General Skilled Migration processing times, 457 sponsor accreditation, new Work and Holiday visas, and an information sharing arrangement between DIAC and the ATO. The Fraud Public Interest Criterion is now being applied to Student and Business Skills visa applications, and DIAC has announced another raft of fee changes beginning on 1 January 2012. But most importantly....
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MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE TEAM AT MIGRATION PLUS! |
STUDENT NEWS!!
Changes to the Student Visa Program
On 5 November 2011 a number of changes were made to the Student visa program, as follows:
Reduced Financial Requirements – Assessment Levels 3 & 4
The financial requirements for higher risk Assessment Level 3 and Assessment Level 4 student visa applicants have been lowered. This means that students who are subject to Assessment Level 3 or Assessment Level 4 will need up to approximately AUD36 000 less in the bank when applying for a visa. Applicants for the non-university sector in particular will benefit from this change.
Genuine Temporary Entrant Requirement
All student visa applicants must now meet the requirement to be a genuine temporary entrant. Student visa applicants are assessed on whether their individual circumstances indicate that their main aim is for a temporary stay in Australia. For example, applicants whose main purpose is to work will have their applications refused.
Reduced English language Requirements for ELICOS Applicants
The English language test requirements for higher risk Assessment Level 4 and above stand-alone English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) visa applicants have been removed.
Homestay Fees Included
Prepaid fees for formal homestay arrangements through education providers can now be included in the financial requirements assessment for a student visa.
PVA Policy Removed
The Pre-Visa Assessment (PVA) policy requiring education providers to receive a PVA letter from the department before they can issue a confirmation of enrolment to Assessment Level 3 and Assessment Level 4 students from outside Australia has been removed.
Upcoming Changes to the Student Visa Program (2012-2013)
A number of other changes to the Student visa program are expected to be implemented by DIAC in the upcoming year i.e. 2012-2013:
- Automatic conversion from Student Course Variations (SCVs) to Non Compliance Notices (NCNs) will cease.
- There will be streamlined visa processing arrangements for a range of Australian university courses, which would treat the applicants as if they are equivalent to Assessment Level 1.
- Higher Degree Research (HDR) students, including the whole package where any English language or other preparatory courses is required by the HDR provider, will be treated as Assessment Level 1.
- English language test requirements for Schools Sector (subclass 571) applicants subject to Assessment Level 4 will be removed, along with the IELTS (specified English language test) waiver for the People’s Republic of China.
- The maximum period of time a School Sector visa holder can study English will be increased to 50 weeks across all Assessment Levels.
- Student Guardian (subclass 580) visa holders will be allowed unlimited part-time study rights for ELICOS.
- Automatic cancellation of Student visas will be abolished.
- The mandatory cancellation requirements for unsatisfactory attendance, unsatisfactory course progress and working in excess of the hours allowed will be removed.
- Student work entitlements will be measured by 40 hours per fortnight rather than 20 hours per week.
- Student visas will be able to be granted more than four months before commencement of the relevant course.
- Bachelor (and Masters by Coursework) graduates who have spent at least two academic years studying that degree in Australia are to receive two years post-study work rights
- Masters by Research graduates are to receive three years post-study work rights
- PhD graduates are to receive four years post-study work rights.
Alternative English language tests for Student visas
As of 5 November 2011, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Pearson Test of English Academic, and Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) will be accepted as alternatives to IELTS for Student visa purposes.
Proposed Higher English Requirement for Streamlined Student Visa Applications
DIAC has put Australian universities on notice that they need to pay more attention to the English language skills of their international students. This includes suggestions that the entry requirements be raised by up to 1.5 IELTS bands.
The proposed ground rules for universities opting in to next year’s “streamlined” visa processing system, says institutions will be asked to outline the strategies they have in place to ensure students have “appropriate levels of English” when they start their courses.
The document notes IELTS advice that “7.5 is probably acceptable for linguistically demanding academic courses … and IELTS 6.5 is probably acceptable for less demanding courses”. “Below this, English language study would be needed,” the report says. “Strategies could include IELTS or equivalent standards for courses set by the institution.”
Currently, most universities require IELTS scores of 6.0 or 6.5 for undergraduate entry.
DIAC has already consulted universities on this proposal, and discussions are continuing.
(Source: The Australian)
GSM – PRIORITY 5 APPLICANTS FACE A LONG WAIT FOR DECISION
Each week DIAC allocates the highest priority General Skilled Migration (GSM) applications on hand for processing until sufficient applications are allocated to deliver the GSM component of the 2011-12 Migration Program.
Currently the allocations are made up of all available applications from Priority Group 1-3 (RSMS, ENS and State Migration Plans), with the balance being Priority Group 4 cases (GSM cases with a nominated occupation on the Schedule 1 of the Skilled Occupation List).
DIAC has advised that as of November 2011 there are around 6295 Priority 4 cases awaiting allocation. Since 1 July 2011, a further 1481 Priority 4 applications have been lodged in Australia and 2702 Priority 4 applications have been lodged outside Australia. Some of the applications lodged in Australia have been allocated to case officers.
DIAC expects to commence allocating some Priority Group 5 applications (all other GSM applications) in the 2011-2012 year. There are currently around 42,631 Priority Group 5 cases awaiting allocation. The oldest Priority Group 5 applications will be processed first, with the oldest lodged in Australia dating from July 2005 and the oldest lodged overseas dating from July 2006.
According to DIAC, the number of Priority Group 5 applications processed in the year ended July 2012 will depend upon the number of higher priority applications received, and other factors including any change in the size of the Migration Program or variation of the Processing Direction.
DIAC has advised that many Priority Group 5 applicants still face a considerable wait until their application is allocated to a case officer for processing and may want to consider other options available.
Please contact us if you have lodged a GSM application that falls in the Priority 5 group, and you would like to consider other visa options.
DIAC SHARING VISA APPLICANT DATA WITH THE ATO
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) are currently requesting and collecting from DIAC the names, addresses and other details of those people who applied for certain temporary visas during the last 3 years.
The visa applicants whose information will be analysed by the ATO are those that applied for visas from the following subclasses between July 2008 and March 2011:
406; 410-411; 415-424; 426-428; 442; 457; 462; 570-576; 580 i.e. ALL Student visa applications and mostTemporary Entry visa applications
The ATO intends to match these details with their own data to identify potential refund fraud and other non compliance with lodgement and payment obligations under taxation law. This matching is taking place in the current quarter of the 2011 year.
This program is called the ‘DIAC/ATO Temporary Visa Data Matching Project’ and is intended to allow the ATO to protect the public revenue from potential abuse and to address potential fraudulent activities concerning refunds, tax system registrations and non compliance with lodgement and debt data.
457 SPONSORSHIP ACCREDITATION
Employers may now apply for accredited status which will qualify them for priority processing for all subclass 457 nominations and visa applications.
To qualify for Accredited Status, sponsors will have to demonstrate several characteristics in addition to the standard sponsorship requirements at the time of application. These characteristics include a specified annual turnover and a good record as a previous 457 sponsor.
If the employer does not meet the characteristics for accredited status, the application for standard business sponsorship will still proceed and be assessed in the usual way.
If a sponsor does not maintain these characteristics, Accredited Status can be revoked which means priority processing will be retracted. The validity length of the sponsorship cannot be changed, and will remain at six years.
NEW WORK AND HOLIDAY VISAS
Papua New Guinea
On 13 October 2011 Australia and Papua New Guinea signed a Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa agreement. The agreement means university-educated Australian and PNG travellers aged between 18 and 30 years old will be able to work and holiday in each other's country for up to 12 months when the program comes into effect.
Argentina
On 2 November 2011 Australia and Argentina also signed a Work and Holiday visa agreement. Both countries are now working towards putting in place the administrative and legal processes that are necessary to bring the agreement into effect.
FRAUD PUBLIC INTEREST CRITERIA (4020) NOW APPLIES TO BUSINESS SKILLS & STUDENT VISAS
As of 5 November 2011, Decision-makers will be able to refuse to grant the following visas on the basis of the applicant having provided false, misleading and/or bogus documentation and/or information to DIAC:
- Business Skills – Business Talent (Migrant) (subclass 132) visa;
- Business Skills – Established Business (Residence) (subclasses 845 & 846) visas;
- Business Skills (Provisional) (subclasses 160, 161, 162, 163, 164 & 165) visas;
- Business Skills (Residence) (subclasses 890, 891, 892 & 893) visas;
- Student (subclasses 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575 & 576 visas; and
- Student Guardian (subclass 580) visa.
Those visa applicants who have previously been refused on the basis of failing to satisfy the Fraud PIC will not be able to be granted a visa unless it has been at least three years since the decision to refuse on the basis of the Fraud PIC was made, or the waiver has been exercised.
This will apply to all Business Skills visas (including those already lodged), and to all Student visa applications lodged on or after 5 November 2011.
NEW FEES & ACCESS TO BENEFITS….
New DIAC Visa Application Fees as of 1 January 2012
DIAC has announced that as of 1 January 2012, there will be some changes to their visa application pricing system. Further changes will be progressively introduced over the next 18 months. The changes are intended to implement a ‘user pays’ system for many visa categories, whilst keeping student and tourist visa prices competitive.
The VAC for student visas will decrease by 5% from 1 January 2012. The VAC for a small number of other visa classes (including RSMS, ENS, Business Skills visas and some Skilled and temporary entry visas) will be increased between 5-15%. For further details, please refer to: DIAC Fact Sheet - New Visa Pricing Arrangements
During the 2012-2013 year it is also anticipated that DIAC will gradually introduce additional fees for:
- applicants who include additional family members
- longer duration visas
- paper applications where an online option is available
- optional services, such as visa labels, which are not required by Australia
Most visitors will see no change to their VAC, including those arriving on an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) and visitors from the European Economic Community.
Fringe benefits tax (FBT) reform – Living-away-from-home allowance and benefits
The Government is introducing reforms to stop individuals from being able to exploit the tax exemption for living-away-from-home allowance and benefits.
As of 1 July 2012:
- access to the tax exemption for temporary residents will be limited to those who maintain a residence for their own use in Australia, which they are living away from for work purposes, such as 'fly-in fly-out' workers; and
- individuals will be required to substantiate their actual expenditure on accommodation and food beyond a statutory amount.
The Government has advised that no permanent resident legitimately using this tax exemption for accommodation and food expenses will lose any entitlements. The reforms will not affect other tax concessions, such as those that apply to travel and meal allowances, and remote area fringe benefits.
ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN AUSTRALIA
The Government has announced a review of access and equity for multicultural communities, amid a debate about whether Australia needs a Multicultural Act.
The Federation of Ethnic Communities' Council's (FECCA) national conference has heard that Australia's diversity is set to rise, but government support for the sector isn't keeping up.
Migrants and their families are a plus to society, experts say. And the FECCA leadership argues migrants deserve a greater voice. So do we!
(Source: SBS World News)
SUPER STATS
Visitors to Australia
54 552 Business (Short Stay) (subclass 456) visa applications were lodged in the July 2011 quarter, the highest number of lodgements for this quarter in the last five years.
Over the 2010-11 program year, the number of Visitor visas granted increased by 2.8% (3,540,774) compared to 2009-10 (3,444,546).
On 30 June 2011, there were 165,972 Visitor visa holders in Australia.
CHRISTMAS QUOTES!!
A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.
Garrison Keillor
At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.
Thomas Tusser
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
Calvin Coolidge
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Chris Dr Christopher R White DBA, MBA, B.Bus, ALGA CA, FCPA,CFP, JP Migration Plus Network Pty Ltd : ABN 45136723987 Education Agent Counsellor F006 Level 15, Cairns Corporate Tower, 15 Lake Street, Cairns Qld 4870 Australia |
Telephone: 07 4041 2620 Fax: 07 4041 5011 Email: visa@migrationplus.com.au Post: PO Box 1477 Cairns Qld 4870 Australia Skype: vzn6971 |
Helping YOU, Helping OTHERS
Migration Plus adds value to the community in which it works. At least 5% of our profit goes towards our charitable fund Step Up and Reach Out which assists selected young people from around the world who choose to improve their position in life through education and learning. Particular emphasis is given to those at potential risk and those who will assist other young people in a variety of ways eg: teaching and mentoring, and thereby improve their lives and that of others. Assistance is given to young people who choose to step up and reach out in return for a commitment that they will help others in some way in the future. This accords with our philosophy of putting a little back to the global community in an outreach of commitment. Our partners and clients are of course invited to contribute to this gift deductible fund.
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Helping You, Helping OTHERS
Migration Plus adds value to the community in which it works. At least 5% of our profit goes towards our charitable fund Step Up and Reach Out which assists selected young people from around the world who choose to improve their position in life through education and learning. Particular emphasis is given to those at potential risk and those who will assist other young people in a variety of ways eg: teaching and mentoring, and thereby improve their lives and that of others. Assistance is given to young people who choose to step up and reach out in return for a commitment that they will help others in some way in the future. This accords with our philosophy of putting a little back to the global community in an outreach of commitment. Our partners and clients are of course invited to contribute to this gift deductible fund.
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