Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa Arrangement with China

Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa Arrangement with China

Starting from 21 September 2016, the Australian Government reached an agreement with People’s Republic of China to expand eligibility for the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) to Chinese Nationals. This enables young, educated Chinese citizens to be able to travel to Australia for work, study or holidaying purposes.

This new addition to the SC 462 Visa programme follows the recent enacted China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), and is aimed at building on the growing international relationship between both countries. Australia and China are set to jointly benefit from the new changes, which are intended to encourage cultural exchange, and strengthen the connection between nations.

This is also a great platform for overseas visitors to experience living in Australia for an extended period of time (up to 12 months). The ability to work also means that visa holders can experience the Australian work culture and meet potential employers who might be willing to offer a permanent position if the visa holder impresses. The wages from work done will also allow travelers to see more of Australia during the 12 months of stay. At the moment the Australian Government has recently allocated 1,500 places in the Working and Holiday Visa program are going to be open for application, with more places to be released in further stages until the programme reaches its annual cap of 5,000 places.

In addition, the visa allows the holder to:

·         stay in Australia for 12 months from their date of first arrival;

·         work for the 12 month duration of their stay, but for no longer than six months with any one employer; and

·         study for up to four months.

General eligibility requirements for Chinese Work and Holiday visa applicants are:

·         hold a valid Chinese passport;

·         are at least 18 but have not turned 31 years of age at the time an application is lodged;

·         will not be with a dependent child while in Australia;

·         have enough money for support on a working holiday (at least AUD $5000);

·         have enough money to buy a return or onward travel ticket at the end of your stay in Australia;

·         have not previously entered Australia on a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417);

·         hold tertiary qualifications, or have successfully completed at least two years of undergraduate university study;

·         have functional English (equivalent to IELTS 4.5 or higher);

·         meet character and health requirements; and

·         are a genuine visitor.

Read More»

‘Backpacker tax’ reduced to 19%

The Government has announced its decision to lower the amount of tax charged to working holiday visa holders, known as the ‘backpacker’s tax’, from 32.5 per cent to 19 per cent.
The Government Visa Application Charge (VAC) for working holiday visas was also reduced, bringing the cost down from $440 to $390.


Changes to the working holiday scheme will also provide greater flexibility for employers. Employers who have premises in different regions will be able to employ a working holiday visa holder for 12 months, with the worker able to work for six months in both regions.


Since the tax was first announced in the 2015-16 Budget, it has been a contentious topic among the farming and tourism sectors.


President of The National Farmers’ Federation, Brent Finlay stated, “We are delighted to see Government listening to its constituency and not put in place a tax that would have hurt farm production and ultimately, the Australian economy.”


Meanwhile, ALP and Independent Senator for Tasmania Senator Lambie from the ALP and Federal Opposition has called on the Government to do more by supporting a new Backpacker Tax which would at least match New Zealand’s tax, set at 10.5 per cent.


Source: ABC

Read More»

Working Holiday Visa - Definitions of "Specified Work"

The Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton has specified (by way of Legislative Instrument, 5 May 2016) what ‘specified work’ will satisfy the Working Holiday visa ‘regional work’ requirements, as follows:-

(i) plant and animal cultivation:

A. the harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops;

B. pruning and trimming vines and trees;

C. general maintenance crop work;

D. cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts;

E. immediate processing of plant products;

F. maintaining animals for the purposes of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase;

G. immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning;

H. manufacturing dairy produce from raw material.

(ii) fishing and pearling:

A. conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species;

B. conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell.

(iii) tree farming and felling:

A. planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled;

B. felling trees in a plantation or forest;

C. transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are first to be milled or processed or form which they are to be transported to the place where they are to be milled or processed.

(iv) mining:

A. coal mining;

B. oil and gas extraction;

C. metal ore mining;

D. construction material mining;

E. other non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying;

F. exploration;

G. mining support services.

(v) construction:

A. residential building construction;

B. non-residential building construction;

C. heavy and civil engineering construction;

D. land development and site preparation services;

E. building structure services;

F. building installation services;

G. building completion services;

H. other construction services.

Nevett Ford Lawyers can assist with all visa related matters.

Read More»

Australian visa update: Singapore - Work and Holiday & Long Validity Visitor visa announced

On 11 May 2016, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton, announced that Singapore will be added to the list of Work and Holiday Subclass 462 visa eligible countries.

The Minister also announced that the option of a long validity, multiple-entry visitor visa for Singaporean nationals to visit Australia will also be introduced.

Read More»

Australian visa update: State of Israel - Subclass 462 Work and Holiday Visas

Legislative Instrument - F2016L00676 - IMMI 16/056 - Migration Regulations 1994 - Arrangements for Work and Holiday and Working Holiday Visa Applications 2016.

This Instrument specifies:

• the state of Israel as an eligible Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa country 
• that a holder of a state of Israel passport does not need to provide evidence of government support for grant of this visa
• the educational qualifications relevant to applicants from the state of Israel. 

Read More»

Working holiday visas – what work is possible?

There are two types of working holiday visas – the working holiday (subclass 417), and the work and holiday (subclass 462). The main purpose of these visas is to allow younger persons the opportunity to visit Australia for up to 12 months. Visa holders are granted employment rights but limited to a maximum period of six months with any one employer unless specific permission is obtained to work longer.

Australia has reciprocal rights with a number of other countries which offer similar types of visas to Australians wishing to travel overseas to experience cultural differences.

The six-month work limitation applies to full-time, part-time, casual, shift and voluntary work. Any breach of this condition will mean that the visa is liable for cancellation, and it is therefore most important that persons who hold these visas are aware of the conditions and observe them stringently.

The ‘employer’ is the business or organisation which the individual works for directly. Many people mistakenly believe that they can continue working for the same employer if they use different employment agencies, business affiliates or subcontracting arrangements, however this is not the case. It is permitted however for an individual to be referred to different businesses by an employment agency or labour supplier.

It frequently occurs that a person on a working holiday visa may be offered permanent employment by the business that they are working for. This means they will have to transfer to another visa class – the most common being the 457 Visa. If the initial six month employment period under the working holiday visa is likely to expire while the new visa application is under processing, it is necessary to make application to the Department for permission to continue working with that employer from the date the six-month period expires. If this permission is not sought and obtained there is the possibility of cancellation action which would then have an impact on the work visa application.

Read More»

Farmers dealing with labour shortage calling against new tax on visa holders

Right now, there is no tax payable on the 1^st eighteen thousand two hundred dollars ($18,200) the working holiday visa makers are going to earn. However, from the 1^st of July of 2016, these visa holders are going to have to pay tax on every dollar they earn. The farmers who state that up to fifty per cent of their seasonal workforce is made up of a lot of these visa holders are making plans to do a major lobby against this planned tax change.


The peak horticulture lobby groups of Queensland, Growcom, Cotton Australia, and the Queensland Farmers Federation are all planning to launch an ‘intensive lobbying campaign’ so that the severe impact of the measures on the agricultural sector can be highlighted, as they fear it can set an exodus of seasonal farm labour.


”It is very simple,” Mr Pat Hannan, the chief executive officer of Growcom, stated at a recent interview with ABC Rural Radio. ”It will deter backpackers from coming and working on our farms.”


Mr Hannan continued on to say, “Without labour to get the crop into the ground and particularly to get the crop out of the ground, our farmers, some of them, are under threat of losing their businesses. It’s really that serious.”


”When you are saying to backpackers, ‘you might have been paid $22.62 an hour before but now we’re only going to pay you $14.59 an hour’, I have got to say that gets around pretty quickly and the backpacker community is going to be less inclined to come to Australia to enjoy their working holidays,” the Growcom CEO said.


Mr Hannan said that this kind of decision is going to hurt farmers and rural communities, which heavily relies on labour provided by backpackers.


”There are a lot of rural communities that survive based on the backpackers and labourers that come into those communities during peak planting and harvest times,” said Mr Hannan. ”It is very short-sighted not to take the dramatic effect on the economies of those areas into account when you make changes the way the Government has.”


He also added that the ones who are affected are the backpackers, as well as the growers and the farmers, which in turn are going to affect the local rural economies.


Source: MigrationAlliance.com.au

Read More»

Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) - Slovak Republic & Slovenia added to list of eligible countries

Slovak Republic and Slovenia have been added to the list of eligible countries for Working Holiday Visas (subclass 417).

Applications from eligible Slovak Republic and Slovenia citizens should be lodged at, or posted to:

Australian Embassy, Berlin, Germany

Visa Office

Wallstrasse 76-79

D-10179 Berlin, GERMANY

Read More»

2nd Working Holiday Visa - new evidence required

From 31 August 2015, applicants for a second Working Holiday Visa must provide pay slips as evidence of the appropriate remuneration  (at least basic pay entitlements) for all work undertaken after this date.  All Australian employers are legally required to provide their employees with pay slips.

Work performed before this commencement date will not require pay slip evidence.

Read More»

New work and holiday agreement with Slovak Republic

Young Australians and Slovaks can now explore and work in each other’s countries under a reciprocal work and holiday visa arrangement announced today by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop and Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash.

Minister Bishop, who met and signed the agreement with Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajčák during his three-day visit, said the new arrangement demonstrated the constructive and positive relationship between our two countries.

“This agreement will provide the opportunity for a culturally rich experience for the young adults of Australia and Slovakia and strengthen our already warm people-to-people links,” Minister Bishop said.

“Both countries will be working closely over the coming months to implement these changes and to complete all necessary legal and administrative processes to bring this visa into effect.”

The work and holiday visa requires applicants to have the support of their government, hold or be studying towards tertiary qualifications, and to speak functional English.

Read More»

Working Holiday visa changes

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is currently in the process of making a change to the second Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa initiative, to exclude volunteer wor​​​k activities, such as Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF), from its eligibility framework. However, this change will take some time to introduce, and is not yet in effect, so it does not impact upon current second Working Holiday visa applications.

When the Department knows the exact date of implementation for the change, it will be announced publicly on our website. This public announcement will be made well ahead of the implementation date so that participants have suitable advance warning. While it is likely the change will commence towards the end of 2015, participants should regularly check this website for updates.​​​​​

(Source: Department of Immigration & Border Protection)

 

Read More»

Working Holiday Makers to pay more tax

The Federal Government will save hundreds of millions of dollars by increasing visa application fees and forcing some foreigners working in Australia to pay more tax.

From July 2016, those on a working holiday in Australia will no longer enjoy a tax free threshold of up to $18,200, and will instead be forced to pay 32.5 per cent tax from their first dollar earned.

That measure will save the budget $540 million over four years.

Treasurer Joe Hockey said the measure was fair and aimed at "levelling the playing field".

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-12/budget-2015-working-holiday-crackdown-to-yield-millions/6464330

 

(Source: ABC)

Read More»

2015 Budget Immigration Highlights

2015 Budget Immigration Highlights:

• Funding to international aid reduced by a further $1 billion from 2014-15
• $14.5 million being allocated in 2015-16 for an expansion of the Adult Migration English Program to include refugees on temporary visas
• $22.1 million over four years to support young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds to build skills to improve their participation in education and work ( in Social Services portfolio)
• Funding to international aid reduced by a further $1 billion from 2014-15
• Working Holiday visa holders no longer be eligible for the tax free threshold on earnings and will pay 32.5% tax from the first dollar earned
• Free trade agreement with India opening the possibility of Working Holiday Visas for Indian nationals
• Increase scrutiny and transparency surrounding foreign investment in agriculture and agribusiness
• Net loss of over $8 million to the Department over four years by not requiring lawyers to register as RMAs
• Saving of $1 million by merging the OMARA back into the Department.
  
  

Read More»

Volunteer work to be abolished for second working holiday visa

As announced by Senator Cash, volunteer work is to be excluded from the eligibility framework for second Working Holiday visas.

The Department has advised that this change will take some time to implement and until this change can be bought into effect, the eligibility criteria for second Working Holiday visas remains unchanged at this time.

http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/michaeliacash/2015/Pages/strengthening-integrity-in-working-holiday-visa-programme.aspx

Read More»