New Permanent Residence Pathway for New Zealand Citizens from 1 July 2017

Residence Requirement

The new pathway is only available to NZ citizens who started living in Australia on or before 19 February 2016. You will need to show that you were usually resident at this time. If you were in Australia for a short visit for a holiday or business would not suffice. On the other hand, if you were temporarily outside Australia on 19 February but were usually resident before this, you may well be eligible.


You will need to show that you have been usually resident in Australia for a continuous period of at least 5 years prior to applying. This continuous period of residence would need to have started on or before 19 February 2016. Showing that you are usually resident would normally involve 2 factors:

• Physical presence in Australia; and
• An intention to reside in Australia

Short visits outside Australia (eg holidays) would be acceptable, providing there is an intention to reside in Australia and you spend a significant amount of time in Australia. If you take up a job or permanent home outside Australia, this could affect your ability to show continuous usual residence in Australia.


You would need to have held a Special Category Visa (SCV Subclass 444) for the 5 years - this is the visa NZ citizens are usually granted on entry to Australia.

Income Requirement

You would need to provide ATO Notices of Assessment showing that you have earned annual taxable income at least equivalent to TSMIT (Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold) for the last 5 financial years.


The TSMIT has been $53,900 since 1 July 2013, but was $51,000 from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.
Limited exemptions to the income requirement will apply - those currently announced include:

• Maternity, paternity or carers leave - application of this exemption is discretionary; or
• Inability to depart Australia due having been assigned primary care of a child by the Family Court of Australia and the child cannot be removed from Australia; or
• Currently receiving compensation for injury and ongoing rehabilitation or compensation would be discontinued if departing Australia

Age Requirement

Unlike other skilled visas, there is no age limit for the NZ stream of the 189 visa. The age limit for the subclass 189 visa will otherwise reduce to 45 from 1 July 2017, and will be reducing to 45 for permanent employer sponsored visas by March 2018 so this is a significant advantage for older applicants.

Including Family Members

Even if they are not NZ citizens, spouses and dependent children can be included in the application. If applying onshore, they must hold a substantive visa or Bridging A, B or C visa.

Health and Character Requirement

All family members included in the application must meet health and character requirements.


The waivable health criterion 4007 applies - this means that if you have a health condition which involves significant cost or use of scarce medical or community services, you can still be granted permanent residence provided the cost is not undue. For instance, if you have significant assets or solid health insurance, and can prove that you can meet your own medical costs, you may still be successful in your application.
Most other permanent visas require family unit members to complete health and character, whether they are included in the application or not. This is not the case for the new application pathway - only family members included in the application need to complete health and character.

Application Fees

Application fees are in line with current fees for the Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa. However, only 20% of the application fee needs to be paid at lodgement. The balance of fees would only be payable once you have met all other criteria and are likely to be granted the visa.
Fees payable are below:

Applicant Type	At Lodgement	Prior to Grant	Total
Main Applicant	$720	$2,880	$3,600
Dependents 18 or Over	$360	$1,440	$1,800
Dependents under 18	$180	$720	$900

Unlike other permanent skilled visa types, there is no English Language Charge for applicants with less than Functional English.

Conclusion

For NZ citizens who were living in Australia on or before 19 February 2016, the new permanent residence pathway is extremely beneficial. In particular:

• There is no English language testing, skills assessment, points test, or sponsorship by an employer
• There is no age limit
• The income level is relatively moderate - and exemptions apply for people on parenting or carer leave
• There is a health waiver for applicants and family members with health conditions
• The bulk of the application fee is only payable once the requirements have been assessed and the visa is about to be granted

New Zealand Citizens who meet the criteria should consider applying for the new pathway as it offers very favourable access to permanent resident status. Given the current political climate, the opportunity may only be available for a limited time.

Read More»

Upcoming Partner Visa Changes: Separate Sponsor Application, 3-Year Provisional Partner Visa

The Department of Immigration & Border Protection (DIBP) has indicated that upcoming changes to the partner visa program will include requiring sponsors to lodge and be approved for sponsorship before their partners can lodge a partner visa application and increasing the time required on provisional partner visas from 2 years to 3 years. It is expected that the sponsor application will attract an additional application fee.


The changes to the partner visa program have not been formally announced and no date has been given for implementation of the new planned changes, and it is unknown what the financial ramifications of the changes may be. DIBP indicated that they currently have approximately 88,000 partner visas pending in the onshore pipeline, and partner visa application times for first and second stage partner visa applications have increased dramatically over the last 12 months with the implementation of additional character requirements for sponsors.


Grant rates for partner visas are noted at 81% for subclass 820 (compared to 84% last year), 75% for subclass 801 (compared to 78% last year) and 92% for subclass 100. Current schedule 3 affected cases are at 650 compared to 750 last year. The top countries of citizenship for applicants are China, Philippines and Vietnam.


DIBP also noted that when Natural Justice letters are issued to applicants under section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 and an applicant makes a Freedom of Information request to get a copy of their file from DIBP, DIBP is not required to wait for the FOI request to be completed before making a decision on the partner visa. This is of concern to some applicants and agents as the time to process FOI requests has increased substantially over the last 12 months and it can now take several months for FOI requests to be processed by DIBP.

Read More»

Age Limit for 189 Visa Points Tested Stream Lowered to 45 Years

Recent legislation has lowered the age limit at the time of invitation for subclass 189 points tested independent skilled visas to 45 years, requiring an applicant to be under 45 years of age at the time of invitation in order to make a valid application for this visa under the points tested stream.


Transitional arrangements in the legislation still allow for a person over 45 but below 50 to respond to an invitation if the invitation has already been issued by DIBP, however it is anticipated that with the passage of the new legislation, no further invitations will be issued to applicants who are 45 years of age or older for the points tested stream of this visa.


While the age has been lowered for applicants for the points tested stream of the subclass 189 visa, there is no age limit for the new NZ stream of the subclass 189 visa which NZ citizens holding a subclass 444 visa may be eligible for after being usually resident in Australia for 5 years and meeting income requirements.


Contact Nevett Ford Lawyers Melbourne today for advice and assistance.

Read More»

Budget Impact on Migration Program

Listed below is a summary of some of the budget announcements which will have an effect on immigration related issues:

1. Annual intake; there is to be no change to the migration program numbers which will remain at 190,000 places for the 2017/18 year,
2. Temporary employment visas; as announced prior to the budget there have been significant changes to the 457 scheme; several hundred occupations are no longer eligible for temporary work purposes, the 457 Visa will soon be abolished and replaced by a new visa to be known as the dual stream Temporary Skills Shortage Visa and only those employees whose occupations appear on the new Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List will be eligible for transition to permanent residence after three years of employment with the sponsoring employer (previously two years).
3. Training benchmarks; a levy, referred to as the Skilling Australians Fund Levy, will replace the current training benchmarks for employers sponsoring workers on 457 and 186 visas. From March 2018, businesses with turnover of less than $10 million per year will be required to make an upfront payment of $1200 per visa per year for each employee on a Temporary Skill Shortage visa. A one-off payment of $3000 will be required for each employee being sponsored for permanent employment under either the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration.
   For businesses with turnover in excess of $10 million the payments will be $1800 and $5000 respectively.
4. Temporary sponsored parent Visa; this is a new visa to be introduced in November 2017 with an allocation of 15,000 visas annually. It will allow the temporary stay of sponsored parents in Australia for periods of up to three or five years. The visa may be renewed from outside Australia to allow a cumulative stay of up to ten years. The sponsor (the Australian child) will be responsible for any public health expenditure incurred by the visa holder whilst in Australia.
5. Foreign investors; A Foreign Investors Tax Levy of $5000 per year will be imposed on foreign investors who do not occupy or lease their Australian properties for at least 6 months of the year. In addition, other tax measures aimed at foreign investors -principally dealing with capital gains tax - have been announced.
6. Age Pension and Disability Support Pension Eligibility; from 1 July 2018 more strict residency rules for new migrants to access Australian pensions will be introduced. Claimants will be required to have 15 years of continuous Australian residence before being eligible to receive the age pension or a disability support pension. Certain exemptions will apply.

Read More»

New training levy for TSS and ENS programs from March 2018

From March 2018, employers wishing to sponsor foreign workers on the TSS and ENS/RSMS programs will be required to pay a training levy which will go towards the Skilling Australians Fund which will fund training of Australians in apprenticeship and trainee programs.

The payment for TSS visa holders will apply on an annual basis per employee. For ENS/RSMS applicants it will be a one-off payment likely to be collected on application. The amount of the new training levy will depend on the size of the business, to be determined on the annual business turnover. Businesses with a turnover of at least $10 million will pay more.


The training levies will be as follows:

	Businesses with turnover less than $10m	Businesses with turnover $10m or more
TSS	$1,200	$1,800
ENS/RSMS	$3,000	$5,000

 

Read More»

Changes to Employer Nominated Permanent Residence (subclass 186 visa)

In addition to the 457 changes recently and unexpectedly announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the Permanent Employer Sponsored Skilled Migration Program will also undergo a number of changes. The 457 visa has historically been a pathway to Australian Permanent Residence under this program.

From 19 April 2017

• Applicants under the Direct Entry Stream will only be eligible to apply if their nominated occupation is on the MLTSSL or STSOL
• Applicants under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream can still apply as usual (even if their nominated occupation is no longer on the STSOL or MLTSSL)

From 1 July 2017

• Occupation lists: The STSOL and MLTSSL will be further reviewed based on advice from the Department of Employment and Department of Education and Training
• English language requirements: A score of IELTS 6 in each component will be required (or equivalent test)
• Age: Applicants under the Direct Entry Stream must be under the maximum age requirement of 45 at the time of application. The maximum age requirement of 50 at the time of application will continue to apply to applicants under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream
  

From March 2018

• Salary: Employers must pay the Australian market salary rate and meet the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), currently $53,900 excluding superannuation
• Residency: The eligibility period under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream will be extended from 2 years to 3 years
• Work experience: At least 2 years of post- qualification relevant work experience will be required
• Age: All applicants (under both the Temporary Residence Transition Stream and Direct Entry Stream) must be under the maximum age requirement of 45 at the time of application
• Training requirement: Strengthened training requirement for employers to contribute towards training Australian workers

Who is affected?

It is expected that further details and clarifications to be announced by the Government over the coming weeks. 

Individuals who were preparing an application under the Direct Entry Stream and their occupation has now been removed - No longer eligible under the Direct Entry Stream

Individuals turning 45 years old - From 1 July 2017, applicants under the Direct Entry Stream must be under 45 years at time of application. From March 2018, all applicants must be under 45 years at time of application.

Individuals who were preparing applications under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream - Minimal impact if lodged before March 2018 (although new English language requirement applies from 1 July 2017).

Please contact Nevett Ford immigration lawyers to discuss your individual circumstances by telephone + 61 3 9614 7111.

Read More»