Immigration News

  • State / Territory and RCB Nomination Application Closure Times Apr 12, 2012

    Courtesy of MIA (taken varbatim)

    State / Territory and RCB Nomination Application Closure Times

    In order to process applications for sponsorship and nominations prior to the 1 July 2012 changes, many State / Territory Governments and Regional Certifying Bodies (RCBs) have announced dates from when applications will no longer be accepted.

    RSMS RCB Nominations
    As Form 1054 will not be accepted by DIAC from 1 July, RCBs have set dates after which they will not accept nomination applications. This is to allow them to deal with the cases they will have to finalise before 1 July, and the different dates for each State or Territory reflect the number of applications they have.

    It has in the past been possible, in some circumstances, to lodge uncertified (but receipted) RCB nominations with DIAC. The Department has advised the MIA today that it will not be accepting uncertified nominations from now on, and that is expected that RCBs will process as many applications as possible.

    DIAC intends to provide greater clarification on this and how the caseload of RSMS certifications will be handled leading up to 1 July. This should be available in the next few days.

  • So many Australian visa changes Apr 2, 2012

    On July 1, 2012 there will be many visa changes. These include amalgamating 6 permanent employer sponsored visa subclasses to 2 (ENS & RSMS), introduction of Skills Select for GSM, amalgamatin of various skills lists, (457, ENSOL etc). In addition, all State Sponored State Migration Plans will be announed. So with all the complexity, now more than ever is the time to engage a registered migration agent........ 

  • Changes to ENS & RSMS Visa System Mar 12, 2012

    Changes to the ENS & RSMS Program (Permanent Employer Sponsored Visas)
    Key extracts from DIAC announcements

    DIAC have announced reforms to the permanent employer sponsored visa program to be introduced on 1 July 2012. This covers the ENS & RSMS Visa classes. 

    The permanent employer-sponsored visa program consists of the following:

    • Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
    • Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
    • Labour Agreements program.

    The program allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent residence to fill genuine vacancies in their business.  The RSMS helps businesses in regional, remote or low population growth areas, outside the major metropolitan centres of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Melbourne, to recruit the skilled workers they need to manage and grow their operations.


    The major changes

     The key reforms that evolved from the review include:

    • collapsing the existing visa subclasses from six to two (being subclass 186 & Subclass 187). This will be achieved by:
      -  removing the existing distinctions between in and outside Australia replacing the permanent labour agreement visa with streams in the ENS and RSMS
      - introducing a streamlined and simplified pathway to permanent residence for eligible Temporary Business (Long Stay) subclass 457 visa holders
    • raising the upper age limit to less than 50 years, in line with other GSM program
    • changes to key visa criteria including English language and skill requirements
    • introducing one consolidated sponsored occupation list to replace the 457 occupation list, the Employer Nomination Skilled Occupation List (ENSOL) and the State and Territory Sponsored Occupation List (StatSOL)
    • strategically refocussing the regional certifying body (RCB) network to the Direct Entry stream of RSMS
    • integrating the new ENS and RSMS visas with the skilled migrant selection model-SkillSelect, which will be launched on 1 July 2012.

    DIAC have produced an excellent quick reference guide to the changes available at:  http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/_pdf/skilled-migration-diagrams.pdf

  • FAQ’s on Skill Select EOI Model Jan 30, 2012

    FAQ's on SkillSelect EOI Model proposed for implementation on July 1, 2012 (extract from DIAC info) 

     


     

  • Processing of Priority Group 5 General Skilled Migration Applications Nov 26, 2011

    Dept of Immigration have advised they are close to allocating Priority Group 5 applications. 

    Here is the table of priorities for processing of GSM applications:

    1. Applications who are employer sponsored under the RSMS program (Subcalss 857/119) or who have applied for a Skilled - Regional (subclass 887) visa
    2. Applications who are applying under the ENS program (Subclass 856/121)
    3. Applications who are nominated by a state or territory government agency for an occupation specified on that agency's state migration plan
    4. Applications from people who have nominated an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) - Schedule 1 in effect from 1 July 2011 See: Annual Update of Skilled Occupation List 
    5. All other applications

     

     

  • New 457 Visa Accreditation Scheme Nov 3, 2011

    Today, the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen, announced businesses using the subclass 457 visa program can now gain access to priority processing and approval for six years under a new accreditation scheme.

    He advised the "new scheme recognises that many Australian businesses have a long history of dealing with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and an excellent record of compliance with workplace and migration laws" and "these businesses will be able to seek accreditation that qualifies them for sponsorship approval of six years rather than the current three, as well as ensuring faster processing times for all future subclass 457 nominations and visa applications.'

     

  • Victoria Updates State Migration Plan (SMP) Nov 2, 2011

    Changes have been made to Victoria's occupation lists, which detail occupations eligible to apply for state sponsorship.

    The Victorian Government have advised they regularly update these lists and now provides forewarning of occupations that are attracting a high number of applications and are likely to close before the end of the program year. The program year ends on June 30, and occupations are regularly closed when the quota fills. 


  • South Australia State Migration Plan Update Oct 28, 2011

    South Australia government have advised they have reached the quota for some occupations on their State Migration Plan for 2010-2011. This relates to Visa Subclass 176 applications. 

  • Alternate English Test Providers for Student Visas Oct 19, 2011

    Commencing November 1, 2011 there are some alterate tests allowable to demonstrate the required English levels for student visas. 

  • New Work & Holiday for PNG Oct 17, 2011

    DIAC have announced a new recriprocal arrangement with Papua New Guinea as part of the Work & Holiday Visa Program (i.e. Subclass 462).

Quick Find Info On:

.