The first day of the month brought the announcement by DIAC of a number of significant changes on the migration front, including priority processing for certain skilled migration visas, an updated Skilled Occupation List, a new points test for General Skilled Migration visas…along with increases to visa application charges and the temporary skilled migration income threshold. In other news, citizens of the Maldives and Croatia are now eligible for e676 Tourist visas, the number of student visa applications are on the rise and 6 million migrants now call Australia home!

NOTABLE NEWS

Priority Processing for Skilled Migration Visas

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen, has set new priority processing arrangements for certain skilled migration visas, with regional visas given the highest processing priority. As of 1 July 2011, applications for these visas (including current applications in the final stages of processing) will be assigned the following processing priorities, in descending order from highest to lowest priority:

1.       Employer-sponsored RSMS applications and subclass 887 Skilled – Regional applications
2.       ENS applications
3.       Applications nominated by a state or territory government agency for an occupation specified on that agency’s state migration plan
4.       Applications where the nominated occupation is on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – Schedule 1 in effect as of 1 July 2011
5.       Certain General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas, including subclasses 175-6, 475, 485, 495-497, 861-863, 880-882 and 885-887

Subclasses 476, 485 and 883 are exempt from priority processing, and will be processed in the order in which they are received.

Those applicants whose applications have been assigned priority level 5 will have a long wait for visa processing. Such applicants may wish to consider alternative options, including: their eligibility for an employer sponsored visa or for nomination by a state or territory government under a state migration plan (both of which would require a new visa application); applying for another substantive visa; or withdrawing their application.

Applicants who are in Australia and need to travel overseas while waiting for their application may also need to apply for a bridging visa.

Increase to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold

On 1 July 2011 the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) was increased by 3.9%, from $47,480 per annum to $49,330 per annum, in line with an increase in average weekly earnings in Australia.

This increase applies to all subclass 457 nomination applications decided on or after 1 July 2011, regardless of when they were lodged. This means that all subclass 457 nomination applications will require the nominated position to have a base salary of at least $49,330 per annum.

The high income exemption to the English language requirement has been correspondingly increased from $85,090 per annum to $88,410 per annum for all visa applications decided on or after 1 July 2011.

Changes to the Employer Nomination Scheme

On 1 July 2011 the minimum salary for the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) was increased from $65,020 per annum to $67,556 per annum for certain professional IT positions; and from $47,480 per annum to $49,330 per annum for all other occupations. 

In addition, the occupation of Slaughterer (ANZSCO 831212) has been removed from the Employer Nomination Skilled Occupation List (ENSOL), whilst the occupation of Dog Handler or Trainer (ANZSCO 361111) has been added to the ENSOL.

NEW POINTS TEST & SKILLED OCCUPATION LIST FOR GENERAL SKILLED MIGRATION (GSM)

Points Test for Certain Skilled Migration Visas

 
On 1 July 2011 the Skilled Migration points test was changed, with the amendments reflecting an increased focus on improved English language levels, more extensive skilled employment, higher level qualifications and a smaller age range.

The pass mark for the test is the total amount of points needed to be eligible for grant of a visa, and will be set at 65 points. This applies to the following visa subclasses: 175, 176, 885 and 886 (Skilled Independent and Skilled Sponsored); and 475 and 487 (Skilled – Regional Sponsored). The following key aspects of the new points test are of particular note:

Age: Applicants must be under 50 years of age at the time of applying for the visa. Applicants between 45 and 49 years of age may apply but will be awarded no points for their age.

English Language: Applicants must meet the threshold English language requirement of competent English, which equates to a minimum score of 6 in each of the four IELTS test components. No points will be awarded for having competent English. However, applicants will be awarded 10 points for having ‘proficient’ English (score of 7 in each of the four IELTS test components), and 20 points for having ‘superior’ English (score of 8 in each of the four IELTS test components).

Skilled Employment: Applicants must nominate an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) at the time of lodging their application, and hold a skilled assessment for this occupation. Points will no longer be awarded for specific occupations.

Work Experience: Applicants will be awarded between 5 and 20 points for verifiable work experience in a skilled occupation during the last 10 years, depending upon the number of years of experience. The experience must be in the nominated occupation, or in a closely related occupation.

Qualifications: Applicants will be awarded between 10 and 30 points for a qualification, depending upon the level of that qualification. Points will be awarded only to the highest qualification obtained. The qualification does not have to be related to the nominated occupation.

Other: Points may also be claimed on various other fronts, including study in a regional area, completion of a Professional Year, the skills of an applicant’s partner, and nomination/sponsorship.

Transitional arrangements apply for certain students and former student visa holders announced on 8 February 2010. These persons may also be eligible for points for an occupation on the former Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL). You can find full details of the new points test here.

Annual update of Skilled Occupation List

The Skilled Occupation List (SOL) was updated on 1 July 2011. The updated SOL will apply to all new independent or unsponsored skilled migration applications lodged on or after 1 July 2011, unless they are submitted by applicants eligible for transitional arrangements. Applications with a nominated occupation that is no longer on the SOL in effect from 1 July 2011 will continue to be processed, but may be assigned lower priority in accordance with the new prriority processing arrangements (see above).

The following occupations were added to the SOL:

Medical Physicist (ANZSCO 234914)
Environmental Health Officer (ANZSCO 251311)
Occupational Health & Safety Adviser (ANZSCO 251312)
Hospital Pharmacist (ANZSCO 251511)
Retail Pharmacist (ANZSCO 251513)
Barrister (ANZSCO 271111)
Solicitor (ANZSCO 271311)
Fitter (General) (ANZSCO 323211)
Fitter & Turner (ANZSCO 323212)
Fitter-Welder (ANZSCO 323213)
Metal Machinist (First Class) (ANZSCO 323214)
Boat Builder & Repairer (ANZSCO 399111)
Shipwright (ANZSCO 399112)

The following occupations were removed from the SOL:

Optometrist (ANZSCO 251411)
Orthoptist (ANZSCO 251412)
Panel Beater (ANZSCO 324111)
Vehicle Painter (ANZSCO 324311)

Please click here for the full updated SOL.

DIAC VISA APPLICATION CHARGE INCREASES

On 1 July 2011 DIAC conducted its annual adjustment of its fees and Visa Application Charges (VACs). The percentage increases varied across the visa subclasses. However, the following changes are of particular note:

The VAC for a number of applications, including RSMS, ENS, Partner and stage 1 Parent category visa applications, has been increased to $1,995 for applications lodged outside Australia and $2,960 for applications lodged in Australia.

The second VAC for applicants with less than functional/vocational English has been increased to $8,240 for primary applicants and $4,110 for dependent applicants.
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All changes can be found on DIAC’s official website: www.immi.gov.au.

BARRING & BALANCING

Bar on Future Sponsorship

Section 48 of the Migration Act prevents repeat visa applications being made by a person in Australia who does not hold a substantive visa and who has had a visa application refused or a visa cancelled since last entering Australia. If your sponsorship, nomination and/or visa application has been refused, you may need to travel offshore in order to lodge and/or be granted a substantive visa application. Other options include lodging your sponsorship or nomination application onshore and your visa application offshore, or lodging an appeal of the decision with the MRT. Please contact us for further details.

Changes to the Balance of Family test

As of 1 July 2011, the ‘balance of family’ test applicable to Parent category visas has been amended, with the following changes of note:

- the country of residence of a child whose whereabouts is unknown is to be taken as that child's last known usual country of residence
- all children and step-children of a visa applicant are counted (with limited exceptions)
- only children who are Australian citizens, or children who are usually resident in Australia and are Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens, count favourably
- if a child is in Australia on a temporary/provisional visa, their country of residence is taken to be the last overseas country in which they were usually resident prior to arriving in Australia or their country of citizenship (depending upon their circumstances)

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Electronic Tourist Visa for the Maldives and Croatia

Citizens of the Maldives and Croatia are now able to apply for an electronic tourist visa (e676 Tourist visa).

Countries Included in the Biometrics Program

Applicants lodging paper-based applications for certain visa subclasses in France must provide their biometrics as of 31 May 2011. This also applies to applications lodged in Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Yemen, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The biometrics can be collected at an Australian Visa Application Centre (AVAC) or an Australian Biometrics Collection Centre (ABCC).

DIAC has released its March 2011 report, which shows that the number of student visa applications may now be stabilising following decreases in recent years. 36,523 student visa applications were lodged in March 2011 (the second highest total for that month in the last four years). The grant rate for student applications in that quarter increased to 93.6 per cent. There was also an improvement in visa processing times with 75 per cent of all applications processed in 29 days.

Chinese Tourism Targeted

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia has increased significantly over recent years. In the first three months of this year, the number of British visitors declined by 11.7 per cent compared with the same period last year. On the other hand, visitors from China in the same period rose by 23.2 per cent to 179,500.

Tourism Australia has advised that the value of the Chinese market exceeded $3 billion for the first time last year, with Chinese visitors spending on average $6,803 during their visits. This makes China the most valuable market for Australia. It has been estimated that by 2020 the number of Chinese visitors could exceed those from Britain and New Zealand.

Last July the government said it would spend $30 million over three years to attract Chinese visitors. In June 2011, the inaugural China-Australia Tourism Summit was held in Cairns, where the 2020 China Strategic Plan was launched. This is aimed at ensuring that Australia remains a top destination for Chinese tourists.

(Source: Sydney Morning Herald).

STAND-OUT STATS

6 million migrants call Australia home

According to figures recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), as of June 2010, 27% of Australia's resident population were born overseas. Almost 6 million migrants, born in over 200 countries, now live in Australia.

The largest groups of residents born overseas were from:

1. U.K. (1.2 million residents)
2. New Zealand (544,000)
3. China (380,000)
4. India (341,000)
5. Italy (216,000)

The majority (76%) of overseas-born residents were of working age i.e. 15–64 years as of June 2010.

QUOTES

Time…

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.
Abraham Lincoln

Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.
Thomas Hardy

For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work.
Doug Larson

This newsletter is general information only.  Before acting seek appropriate advice relevant to your specific circumstances.
 

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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