Temporary Activity Visa changes - 19 November 2016

Following the Skilled Migration and Temporary Activity Review undertaken by the Department of Immigration & Border Protection (DIBP) in December 2014, it has been announced that a new Temporary Activity Visa framework will come onto effect on 19 November 2016.

In summary, there would be four visa subclasses:

• Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) (subclass 400) visa;
• Temporary Work (International Relations) (subclass 403) visa;
• Training (subclass 407) visa; and
• Temporary Activity (subclass 408) visa.

These four visas would come into effect following the:

• repeal of five visas - Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) (subclass 401); Training and Research (subclass 402); Special Program (subclass 416); Temporary Work (Entertainment) (subclass 420) and Superyacht Crew (subclass 488);
• restructuring of two existing visas - Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) (subclass 400) and Temporary Work (International Relations) (subclass 403); and
• creation of two new visas - Temporary Activity (subclass 408) and Training (subclass 407).

The six existing sponsor classes (Long Stay Activity, Training and Research, Professional Development, Entertainment, Special Program and Superyacht Crew) would be replaced by a single Temporary Activities sponsor class.

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Partner visa - Form 888 Declarants May Expect a Call from the DIBP

Departmental officers are increasingly contacting supporting witnesses to Partner Visa and Prospective marriage visas who provided Statutory Declarations or Forms 888 to verify the content of their statements.

Form 888s (or Statutory Declaration in other forms), which contribute to the assessment of the social aspects of a relationship, must be taken very seriously by supporting witnesses since, under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959, people who intentionally make a false statement in a statutory declaration are liable for punishment of 4 years imprisonment. In addition, the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) provides penalties for providing false or misleading statements of 12 months imprisonment or a fine of AUD12,000.

A Form 888 generally needs to be completed by an adult Australian citizen or permanent resident who knows the visa applicant and their partner or fiancé(e) and the history of their relationship (supporting witness);

A Form 888, like any other Statutory Declaration, must be signed before an authorised person, as prescribed by the Statutory Declarations Act 1959 and Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993.

The list of authorised persons includes:

• Justice of the Peace;

• medical practitioner;

• legal practitioner;

• civil marriage celebrant or registered minister of religion;

• dentist;

• nurse;

• optometrist;

• pharmacist;

• physiotherapist;

• full-time teacher;

• police officer; or

• public servant with 5 or more continuous years of service.

 

Any attachments to the Declaration must also be certified by a prescribed person.

If the Applicant is overseas and no Australian citizen or permanent resident is available to provide a Form 888, it may be filled in by someone who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, however, in these circumstances, the statement cannot be considered a statutory declaration under Australian law: the form 888, under policy, should then be witnessed or certified according to the legal practices of the country in which the statement is made. Failing that, it should be witnessed by a person whose occupation or qualification is comparable to those listed above. This person should sign, date and specify their occupation at the bottom of the statement. At best these requirements should also be confirmed with the nearest DIBP office overseas.

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NEW Entrepreneur Visa (Australia) - Migration Regulation introduced

There are now new streams within the Business Innovation and Investment visa class, to provide a pathway to Australian permanent residence for:-

• high calibre entrepreneurs with financial backing from third parties in Australia,
• who are nominated by a State or Territory government, and
• who meet residence requirements, and
• complete successful entrepreneurial activities in Australia.

Contact us today if you would like more information and advice on the specific requirements of any of the business stream (or other) visas for Australia.

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Immigration Law & Immigration Lawyers in Australia

Migration is a complex process, and some cases present more complications than others. To obtain the most up-to-date information and ensure your application will be carried out correctly, you need an immigration lawyer / agent you can trust.
 
Our immigration lawyers and agents are registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) and are fluent in current laws and procedures, to ensure the information we provide you is up-to-date. Also, as registered agents, our lawyers and agents have proven they are of good character and are bound to operate by MARA’s code of conduct.
 
Our lawyers and agents can advise you on immigration matters, providing you with the most current and relevant information for your situation. This helps you choose the option that’s best for you.
 
We’ll also help you prepare and lodge an application. Though this sounds simple, it can be complicated, requiring a variety of documents and legal requirements that must be met for your application to be successful.
 
Finally, we’ll also liaise with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection on your behalf, which can take a lot of the stress out of the process, especially if you’re applying from another country.


We can also assist you if your visa application has been refused.  There are often avenues for you to appeal the decision - such as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), Federal Courts or the Minister for Immigration.


Contact us today if you need advice and assistance with Australian visas.

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52 Occupations flagged for removal from the Skilled Occupation List (SOL)

Australia’s Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is reviewed by the Department of Education and Training annually.  This year, over 50 occupations have been flagged for removal from future Skilled Occupation Lists (SOL).

 

Professional

• Accountant (General)
• Management Accountant
• Taxation Accountant
• Actuary
• Land Economist
• Valuer

 

Medical

• Medical Diagnostic Radiographer
• Occupational Therapist
• Medical Radiation Therapist
• Podiatrist
• Speech Pathologist
• General Practitioner
• Anaesthetist
• Cardiologist
• Endocrinologist
• Intensive Care Specialist
• Paediatrician
• Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
• Psychotherapist
• Psychologist (nec)
• Medical Practitioners nec

 

Legal

• Barrister
• Solicitor

 

Maritime, Resources and Engineering

• Production Manager (Mining)
• Civil Engineer
• Geotechnical Engineer
• Structural Engineer
• Transport Engineer
• Electronics Engineer
• Industrial Engineer
• Mechanical Engineer
• Production or Plant Engineer
• Aeronautical Engineer
• Agricultural Engineer
• Chemical Engineer
• Biomedical Engineer
• Engineering Technologist
• Environmental Engineer
• Ship’s Engineer
• Ship’s Master
• Ship’s Officer
• Naval Architect
• Boat Builder and Repairer
• Shipwright

 

Science

• Other Spatial Scientist
• Medical Laboratory Scientist

 

Other

• Chef
• Veterinarian
• Surveyor
• Cartographer
• Quantity Surveyor

 

Skilled occupations such as engineers, taxation accountants, barristers and solicitors are at risk of being removed from Australia’s 2016/17 skilled occupations lists (SOL), following advice from the Department of Education and Training to the Minister of Immigration and Border Protection.

The SOL is a compilation of occupations for skilled migration with the aim of meeting the medium to long-term skill needs of the Australian economy and is commonly used for non employer sponsored work visas such as the 189 or 489, rather than 457 work visas.

Each year, the Department of Education and Training undertakes a review of the SOL and if there is emerging evidence of excess supply in the labour market for a particular occupation, it is generally flagged for possible removal.

The Department of Education and Training receives submissions from bodies and organisations across the country to assess labour market conditions for the listed occupations. The Australian newspaper recently reported that GP’s, surgeons, anesthetists and other occupations in the health industry are among 41 jobs pushed by the Federal Health Department for removal from the SOL.

The Health Department submission into the review of the SOL read, “Over a longer planning horizon, better management of migration pathways for international health professionals must occur in combination with all commonwealth departments’. The strategy would allow vacancies to be filled by local medical graduates, particularly in regional areas.

SOURCE: SBS

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Engineering, medicine & nursing students more likely to find employment in their fields

Recent research by internationally recognised migration expert from the University of Melbourne, Lesleyanne Hawthorne shows that the percentage of skilled migrants that were able to find employment in their field varied depending on their chosen course of study.

 

The percentage of recently arrived migrants who were able to find employment in their field of study:

• 66% studied Nursing
• 57% studied Medicine
• 29% studied Engineering
• Less than 10% studied Commerce
  
  

According to Ms Hawthorne, the percentage for Commerce graduates, particularly in Accounting, Business and IT graduates – could be relatively lower due to an ‘oversupplied’ market in these areas.

Skilled migrants arriving with a tertiary qualification are seeing better job prospects than 15 years ago, with recent ABS statistics confirming that since 2010, nearly 40% of migrants with a tertiary qualification are working in their field, compared with 20% of those who arrived before 2001.

 

The latest ABS statistics show that tertiary qualified migrants who arrived after 2010 currently make up 5% of Australia’s tertiary qualified workforce and 12% of labourers

 

SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald

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Frustrated with processing times of 457 visa?

On a daily basis we assist many businesses whom have gone through substantial efforts to recruit the right person to fill in a time critical position in their business. They often look at the pool of available talent overseas only to get hit by the immigration formalities of relocating that talent.
The time it takes to put documents together and the time it takes by the Immigration Department to process a visa application often causes those businesses to lose contracts. Lost revenue is often as high as thousands of dollars per day.

The type of talent that is usually sponsored on a 457 visa are highly specialised professionals who cannot afford delayed relocation and are often required to commence work immediately.

It is now possible to allow those businesses to bring in their required task force on a short-term work visa which is known as the Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa (subclass 400) and sometimes this can be converted to a Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity) visa (subclass 457) once the candidate is in Australia.

The Subclass 400 is a short-term work visa designed for professionals living overseas to arrive in Australia to perform temporary, highly specialised non-ongoing work. This visa, when presented professionally, can be decided within as little as 1-2 days by the immigration department and allows professionals to travel to Australia and work for up to 3 months (under limited circumstances up to 6 months).

This short term work visa is also a good tool for businesses that are uncertain about appointing a new staff member who is from overseas.

Call us today if you are an Australian business who wishes to hire from the overseas talent pool and wish to have a clear idea on how to proceed with this work. Our friendly and highly specialised team of migration practitioners can walk you through every stage while you remain focused on your business.

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