Salvo Migration's Blog: April 2016

Monday 25 April 2016

Sunday 24 April 2016

ANZAC Day - Lest We Forget

We live in the best country in the world. Lest we forget those who gave their lives to protect it.

Salvo Migration

Originally Published here: ANZAC Day - Lest We Forget

Friday 22 April 2016

Immigration Lawyer Brisbane - Subclass 485 Visa Guide!

As Immigration Lawyers, we speak to many international students in Australia looking for visa options after the completion of their studies. In fact, that is why we wrote one of our previous blogs which has gone on to receive some great feedback. Accordingly, the aim of this blog is to clarify the Subclass 485 visa, otherwise referred to as the Graduate or Post-Study visa available to international students who have completed at least 2 years of academic study in the country.

Importantly, as the above diagram demonstrates, although there are common criteria applicable to all applicants, there are two streams to this visa, the Graduate Work Stream and the Post-Study Stream, each with specific requirements. So lets have a closer look.

Common Criteria

The common criteria for all 485 visa applicants requires that they have not held a Subclass 485 visa previously (its a one time deal!), have achieved the required score in their English testing, have arranged for both their Australian Federal Police clearance and health insurance prior to the application of the visa and meet health and character requirements. Both streams also require that applicants have completed at least 92 weeks of study in Australia within the 6 months prior to applying for the visa.

Graduate Work Stream

The Graduate Work Stream is available for those who have completed their studies in Australia relevant to an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL). Importantly, each qualification used to satisfy the Australian Study Requirement must be both closely related to the nominated occupation on the SOL and be at least at a Degree, Diploma or Trade Certificate level.

For example, a Certificate IV in Business cannot be used to meet the 92 week study requirement as it is neither a Diploma nor a trade certificate. Additionally, someone nominating the occupation of Carpenter cannot use a Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery, as although this is a trade qualification, it is not closely related to the nominated occupation.

Lastly, applicants under this stream must ensure that prior to submitting their visa application to the DIBP that they have applied for their migration skills assessment from the respective Skills Assessing Authority associated to their nominated occupation. If you are unsure of your skills assessing authority, refer to the second column of the SOL.

If successful, applicants under the Graduate Work Stream will be granted a visa valid for 18 months.

Post-Study Work Stream

The Post-Study Work Stream is available to applicants who have completed 92 weeks of study at a Bachelor level or higher. The benefit of this stream is that it does not require applicants to have studied a field related to an occupation on the SOL nor does it require applicants to apply for a migration skills assessment for grant of the visa. However, as Migration Agents in Brisbane, we advise people that this stream is only available to applicants who applied for their first student visa to Australia after the 5 November 2011. Unfortunately there is no leniency with this provision and those who applied for their first student visa anytime before the 5 November 2011 will be unable to apply under this stream. However, they may still qualify under the Graduate Work Stream mentioned above.

If successful, applicants under the Post-Study Work stream will be granted a visa valid for 2-4 years, depending on the level of qualification obtained.

If you require assistance of an Immigration Lawyer in Brisbane today, give us a call on 1300 MIGR8TE (644 788) or send your questions to enquiry@salvomigration.com.au and we hope you learnt something valuable by visiting Salvo Migration.

Originally Published here: Immigration Lawyer Brisbane - Subclass 485 Visa Guide!

Sunday 17 April 2016

Subclass 457 & Student Visas - Immediate Changes

Following on from our previous blog which advised of possible changes to the Subclass 457 visa scheme, the following minor amendments have recently been announced and will commence from the 19 April 2016:

The introduction of a new Subclass 457 obligation on standard business sponsors that they not engage discriminatory recruitment practises, on the grounds of immigration status or citizenship is introduced.
Amendment of the Internet application process so that requiring visa applicants to enter the nomination details in their application to streamline the application.
The removal of the requirement for applicants to provide English testing where this is already required for occupational licencing or registration.

Perhaps more importantly however are the sweeping changes to the current Student visa framework with the simplification of visa Subclasses and the implementation of the following amendments:

The reduction of visa subclassess available to two student visa subclasses only: Subclass 500 (Student) and Subclass 590 (Student Guardian)
Streamline application and processing requirements for student visa applicants, with common criteria and genuineness of application for entry and stay as a student
Simplify range of requirements including enrolment, financial and other requirements relating to visas previously held if the application is made in Australia
The current regulatory assessment level framework and streamlined processing provisions will be repealed and new requirements introduced to strengthen the integrity of the programme, by providing a larger range of factors for decision makers to assess genuineness and the need for individuals to provide evidence of financial and English proficiency
Clarify for student visa holders the conditions on the courses they are permitted to undertake and when a change of course would require them to apply for a new student visa
Make other amendments to repeal duplicate and redundant provisions and clarify the operation of the relevant provisions

For more information readers should refer to Migration Legislation Amendment 2016 (2016 Measures No.1) Regulation 2016 available here.

If you would like to speak to our migration lawyers in Brisbane today, give us a call on 1300 MIGR8TE (644 788) or send your questions to enquiry@salvomigration.com.au and we hope you enjoyed visiting Salvo Migration.

Originally Published here: Subclass 457 & Student Visas - Immediate Changes

Thursday 14 April 2016

Had a Visa Cancelled or Departed Unlawfully? Understand Your Options

In a recent blog article we discussed the issues people can face if they have had a visa cancelled previously in Australia. Importantly, these problems arise by virtue of a set of strict visa criteria known as Public Interest Criteria (PIC). Accordingly, the aim of this blog will be to better explain what exactly PIC is, when it applies and what options there are to 'get around them'.

The purpose of PIC is to identify visa applicants who may pose a risk to Australia because of previous breaches of immigration law and preclude certain persons from entering Australia, or in other words, make it harder for people who have done not so good things from staying or coming back. Arguably, the two most common types of PIC people often run afoul of are PIC4013 and PIC4014 respectively. Importantly, both PIC4013 and PIC4014 contain 'exclusion periods', meaning that if an applicant does not satisfy the criteria set out in each respective PIC, then unless exceptions apply, they cannot be granted a visa within a specific time frame - more commonly referred to as a 'ban' or 'red flag' from having a visa granted.

What Is PIC4013

PIC4013 applies to people who have had a visa cancelled under certain provisions within the Migration Act. Accordingly, if an applicant 'fails' PIC4013 - as in they have had a visa cancelled and are applying for a new visa within three years of the visa cancellation - then unless there are compelling circumstances that affect the interests of Australia or compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, then the newly applied visa cannot be granted. However, this does not necessarily apply to all new visas applied for (better explained below).

What is PIC4014

PIC4014 on the other hand relates to visa applicants who are applying for a visa to Australia after having departed Australia after being unlawful, or the holder of a BVC, BVD or BVE for more than 28 days. Accordingly, for applicants who fall within this description and are applying within 3 years of their departure from Australia, unless there are compelling circumstances that affect compassionate or compelling circumstances that affect the interests of an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, then as above, the new visa cannot be granted.

Options If You Fail PIC4013 and PIC4014

Importantly however, despite the operation of both PIC4013 and PIC4014, if an applicant fails either (or both) of those PIC, if the new visa being applied for does not have PIC4013 or PIC4014 as a criteria for the grant of that specific visa, then applicants can still have another visa granted. For example, PIC4013 and PIC4014 do not apply to ENS (186), RSMS (187) or Partner visas, just to name a few. Meaning that even if applicants have had a visa cancelled or departed Australia after being unlawful, they may still be eligible to have the above mentioned visas granted. We say 'may', because applicants will still need to meet all other criteria for the visa applied for.

If you feel you do not satisfy PIC4013 or PIC4014 or require immigration assistance in general, then contact our migration agents in Brisbane today by giving us a call on 1300 MIGR8TE (644 788) or send your questions to enquiry@salvomigration.com.au and thank you for visiting Salvo Migration!

Originally Published here: Had a Visa Cancelled or Departed Unlawfully? Understand Your Options

Sunday 10 April 2016

Possible Overhaul of Subclass 457 Visa Scheme

A recent senate committee report titled 'A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders' could lead to widespread reform to the current Subclass 457 scheme after its 33 recommendations were published last month.

Accordingly, some of these recommendations include:

The removal of labour market testing exemptions which currently exist for certain occupations.
Employers sponsoring in professional occupations to be required to employ an Australian graduate on a one-on-one basis.
Employers sponsoring in trade occupations demonstrate that 25% of their workforce be made up of apprentices.
Current training benchmarks be replaced with with a 'training levy' per 457 visa worker to the value of $4000 per 457 worker.

Importantly however, the report also commented on temporary visas more generally. For example, the report also made the following recommendations:

An examination into the costs and benefits of continuing the operation of a second year for Working Holiday visa holders.
A greater emphasis being placed on time spent living in Australia when considering eligibility for permanent residency.

To see the full report click here.

Although it may be some time yet before any of these recommendations are implemented, we would safely assume that change in some form or another is inevitable. So the question is not if, but when!

If you are in the process of applying for your Subclass 457 visa, contact our migration agents today by giving us a call on 1300 MIGR8TE (644 788) or send your questions to enquiry@salvomigration.com.au and thank you for visiting Salvo Migration!

via Salvo Migration - Blog http://www.salvomigration.com.au/blog
April 10, 2016 at 09:00PM

Thursday 7 April 2016

Australian Partner Visas - Domestic Violence To Prevent Sponsorship

The Australian Parliament is currently considering changes to the Migration Regulations which may prevent Australian partners with a history of domestic violence from being able to sponsor their partners under the variety of Australian Partner Visas currently available (see this link here for more information on Partner visas).

As the law currently stands, there is little criteria in terms of who can sponsor for Partner visas, except of course that they are Australian permanent residents or Australian Citizens, and have not previously sponsored another partner under the same visa types (with exceptions to this applying).

The Bill under consideration aims to achieve the following:

Require a separate sponsorship assessment process;
Require that a person is approved as a sponsor before a visa application is made;
Impose statutory obligations with real consequences on approved sponsors; and
Improve the management of family violence in the delivery of the program by allowing the refusal, cancellation, or barring of a sponsorship application where inappropriate use of the program is detected.

Frighteningly, statistics indicate that many women on Australian partner visas reach out for assistance after having suffered domestic violence by their Australian partners.

Importantly, provisions do currently exist for sufferers of domestic violence to be eligible to have their permanent partner visas granted and we encourage anyone in a similar situation to contact our Migration Lawyers to discuss in more detail.

For the full story, please see Migration Alliance.

If you find yourself in an abusive ans unsafe relationship with your Australian partner, contact our migration agents in Brisbane today by giving us a call on 1300 MIGR8TE (644 788) or send your questions to enquiry@salvomigration.com.au | http://www.salvomigration.com.au.

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