Nevett Ford Melbourne | Migration Law Specialists

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Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Swiss citizens can use SmartGate

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has issued a new legislative instrument that adds Swiss ePassports to the list of passports eligible to use SmartGate as of 11 November 2013.

This makes Switzerland the first non-English-speaking country whose citizens are able to use the automated border processing system in place in Australia and New Zealand.

The SmartGate system, which uses advanced facial recognition technology allowing travellers to self-process, was initially launched in August 2007 for the holders of Australian and New Zealand ePassports. Through later amendments, USA passport holders have been able to use SmartGate since 12 October 2012 and UK passport holders since 17 June 2013.

Holders of USA, UK and Swiss passports need to hold an appropriate visa in order to be able to enter Australia. New Zealand passport holders are able to live and work indefinitely in Australia and are not required to obtain a visa in advance provided that they have no significant health or character issues.

Israelis can apply for Visitor Visas online

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has amended the legislative instrument that lists the passports eligible to apply for a Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) online. This facility was rolled out progressively starting from 12 June 2013.

In addition to passports already eligible, passport holders from Israel will be able to apply for a Visitor Visa online from 14 November 2013.

There are currently a total of 73 passports that are eligible. You can see the list of currently eligible passports at: http://www.immi.gov.au/e_visa/600.htm

Labour Market Testing - 457 visas

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has released the details of the Labour Market Testing (LMT) requirements which will apply to certain nominations made for a Subclass 457 visa from 23 November 2013.

The detailed policy lists occupations for which LMT will be required as well as setting out the exemptions that will apply based on Australia's international trade obligations.

Employers wishing to nominate applicants for a Subclass 457 visa will need to demonstrate evidence of having conducted LMT if a particular occupation is not specifically exempted and if an exemption is not otherwise available based on Australia's international trade obligations.

All professional and managerial occupations with the exception of nursing and engineering roles have been exempted from LMT requirements. By contrast, evidence of LMT will need to be provided for all trade occupations and most associate professional roles unless otherwise exempt as noted above.

If you have any questions or require advice, please contact us by telephone: 03 9614 7111 or by email: rcurtisgriffiths@nevettford.com.au

No more Decision Ready applications

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has sent a notification to all registered migration agents confirming that the 'Decision Ready' facility for permanent employer-sponsored visas has been removed.

While the Department's e-mail was dated 2 January 2014, the notification confirmed that the facility had been remeved as from late December 2013. The 'Decision Ready' facility was available only to registered migration agents and applications submitted in this way were prioritised above others.
In practice, the processing times for 'Decision Ready' applications had been suffering for some time and were not entirely different from non-Decision Ready cases.

From this points onwards, all applications lodged under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)(Subclass 186) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)(Subclass 187) visa programmes will be queued and allocated by date of lodgement with the Department.

South Australia State Nomination Occupation List (SNOL)

There have been further changes to the status of certain occupations listed on South Australia's State Nomination Occupation List (SNOL).

South Australia’s list is a ‘live’ document prepared based on the planning levels set for each occupation by the State Government. When an occupation’s planning level is reached, it is no longer available for nomination although special conditions apply to former or current South Australian graduates.

The four principal headings in the list are as follows:

High Availability – High number of places available based on South Australia’s planning levels

Medium Availability – Reasonable number of places available based on planning levels

Low Availability – Limited places available as planning levels are close to being reached

Special Conditions Apply – Planning level reached and only South Australian graduates can apply
The list is a ‘live’ document and, as such, occupations move from High Availability downwards as the migration year progresses (starting in July and ending in June).
Below is a breakdown of some of the recent changes.

High Availability to Medium Availability
139913 Laboratory Manager
221111 Accountant (General)
232611 Urban and Regional Planner
234112 Agricultural Scientist
261212 Web Developer
331111 Bricklayer

Medium Availability to Low Availability
223112 Recruitment Consultant
411411 Enrolled Nurse
411711 Community Worker

Low Availability to Special Conditions Apply
149914 Financial Institution Branch Manager
233211 Civil Engineer

Currently Not Available
In addition to the above, a number of occupations which are close to reaching their national ceiling set by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) are not currently available for South Australian state nomination. The Department has a limited number of places available for these occupation for the rest of the 2013-14 migration year. It is expected that the DIBP will notify states and territories in December as to whether there are any additional places available for these particular occupational groups for state nomination and will allocate them new quotas if applicable.

The occupations that are currently not available for nomination by South Australia are:

233111 Chemical Engineer
233911 Aeronautical Engineer
233913 Biomedical Engineer
233915 Environmental Engineer
233999 Engineering Professional (nec)
261111 ICT Business Analyst
261112 Systems Analyst
261313 Software Engineer
263312 Telecommunications Network Engineer

The complete list is available at https://www.migration.sa.gov.au/SNOL_data.

If you believe you meet the requirements please contact us on: 03 9614 7111 or by email: melbourne@nevettford.com.au to discuss your eligibility with a qualified immigration lawyer.

Western Australia State Sponsorship

The Western Australian government has advised that it will release the new criteria for its state nomination process on 1 March 2014.

Until then, the 2012-13 State nomination criteria will remain in place.

Applicants who receive an invitation to apply for State nomination before the release of the new criteria will not be affected.

Western Australia's complete state nomination list can be seen at:

http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/skilledmigration/Pages/Occupationsindemand.aspx

If you believe you meet the requirements for an occupation on the list or simply want to find out if you qualify for migration to Australia, please contact us on: 03 9614 7111 or by email at: melbourne@nevettford.com.au

Singapore citizens can now use SmartGate

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has issued a new legislative instrument that adds Singapore ePassports to the list of passports eligible to use SmartGate as of 24 February 2014.

This makes Singapore the first country in Asia whose citizens are able to use the automated border processing system in place in Australia and New Zealand.

The SmartGate system, which uses advanced facial recognition technology allowing travellers to self-process, was initially launched in August 2007 for the holders of Australian and New Zealand ePassports. Through later amendments, USA passport holders have been able to use SmartGate since 12 October 2012, UK passport holders since 17 June 2013 and Swiss passport holders since 11 November 2013.

Holders of USA, UK, Swiss and Singapore passports need to hold an appropriate visa in order to be able to enter Australia. New Zealand passport holders are able to live and work indefinitely in Australia and are not required to obtain a visa in advance provided that they have no significant health or character issues.