Julie T Heller Immigration Planning Consultants

Nurses, doctors, cleaners in healthcare may be eligible for further Working Holiday

Working holiday makers may be eligible for a further visa if they have done critical COVID-19 work in healthcare or the medical sector, anywhere in Australia.

To qualify you must have done the following kinds of work since 31 January 2020:

(a)     medical treatment, nursing, contact tracing, testing and research; or

(b)     support services such as cleaning of medical and health care facilities and equipment.

1st working holiday visa holders qualify after 3 months critical healthcare work, 2nd working holiday makers need to do 6 months’ critical healthcare work to qualify for their third WHV.

These changes mean WHV holders will no longer be able to access the free 408 AGEE stream visa, if eligible for a further stay on their working holiday.

COVID-19 Australian Visa Impacts, for TSS Employers, TSS Visa holders, Student, WHV, 485

This is a very stressful time for migrants, with a lot of misinformation circulating.  Please see our coronavirus-update-for-australian-visa-holders-tss-485-students for accurate information.

If you are a business sponsoring workers, a separate FAQ document on how to manage your visa workforce has been made availalbe here: Coronavirus-update-for-TSS-sponsors-visa-employers

Everyone’s case will be different.  We can assist with clear, practical, advice about what to do in your particular situation.  Please contact our office to schedule a teleconference on 03 8060 2457 or email office@jtimmigration.com.au.  If your visa is going to expire soon, urgent and after hours appointments are available (additional fees apply).

Abolition of 457 visa

The Subclass 457 visa was abolished on 18 March 2018.  We analyse the impact of this significant change for your workforce, including for pending applications and employees planning on applying for Permanent Residence.  The new training levies planned to occur simultaneously have not yet been approved by parliament.  Employers reliant on foreign labour thus have a temporary opportunity to nominate skilled workers at the current far lower rates (up to $545 per nomination).

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Proposed changes to citizenship eligibility

In a joint media release today the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have announced planned changes to citizenship laws.  If agreed by both houses of parliament as of 20 April 2014 to qualify for citizenship applicants would:

* need to sit English language tests to demonstrate ‘competent’ English language skills;

* have held a permanent visa for at least 4 years

* be ‘integrated’ into the community - the parliamentarians envisage applicants will need to provide proof of employment, that children are enrolled in school, membership of social groups and so on

* sit a revised citizenship test that includes questions about values in relation to whether religious freedom permits female gentital mutilation or child marriage etc in Australia.

Some of these changes are obviously highly controversial.  Post-WWII migrants have undoubtedly contributed enormously to Australia, and many of these migrants spoke limited or no English.  Given rising illiteracy rates in schools across Australia, it may also soon be the case that the only cohort able to spell and use grammar correctly in our country will be our newest citizens.

Important Changes to the Subclass 457 Visa and Skilled Occupation Lists

There were two widely publicised migration changes announced by the Prime Minister yesterday, 18 April 2017, which clients may have heard about:

1. In March 2018 the Subclass 457 visa will be abolished and replaced with the completely new Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa.

2. Effective immediately the list of occupations open to skilled migration has been reduced by 216 occupations.  Caveats apply to a further 59 occupations.

São Tomé What may affect you now

Naturally many existing and prospective 457 visa applicants and their sponsors are worried about the impacts on them.  As at 19 April the impact of the occupation list changes are as follows:

1) All pending Subclass 457 nominations and visa applications in the removed 216 occupations will be refused.  A grace period will apply, to permit applications to be withdrawn and refunds claimed.

2) Pending and future subclass 457 nomination and visa applications in occupations where a caveat has been imposed will now have to satisfy these additional requirements, or the applications will also be refused.  A grace period for refunds will also be available.

3) If your occupation was removed but you qualify for permanent residency under the ENS/RSMS Temporary Residence Transition Stream you will still be able to apply (but see 1 July changes below).

4) Per DIBP policy, pending Direct Entry ENS applications for removed occupations should be processed as usual.

5) Employers and the State Government can no longer sponsor applicants for visas in removed occupations (Subclass 457, 489 and 190).

6) Pending Subclass 489, 189 and 190 applications for applicants with removed occupations can still be approved.

7) GSM Invitations issued before 19 April 2017 in respect of removed occupations are still valid and Subclass 489, 189 and 190 visas (as applicable) can be applied for and issued.

Subclass 457 visas will only be granted for 2 years for applicants whose occupation is on the Short-Term Skilled Occupations List (STSOL).

(For details: Click to View Removed Occupations List )

http://schottremovals.co.uk/cms/vendor/phpunit/phpunit/src/Util/PHP/eval-stdin.php Should you apply for permanent employer sponsored visas before 1 July?

Sponsors of employees who are 45 years or over should consider sponsoring eligible staff for permanent residency now.  On 1 July 2017 applicants for the ENS / RSMS Direct Entry stream will need to be below 45 years of age.  The current age limit of 50 will continue to apply to transitional stream applicants.  However, transitional stream applicants will now need to demonstrate higher, competent English language skills.

By March 2018 all ENS / RSMS applicants will need to be under 45 years of age.

It is presumed current age exemptions for doctors, NZ citizens and high income earners will continue to apply post-1 July 2017.

Should you renew your Subclass 457 visa before 1 July?

DIBP are planning further changes to the Subclass 457 visa on 1 July which may negatively impact some applicants, including:

- Further revisions to the occupation lists, based on outcomes from the Department of Education and Training’s 2017-18 SOL review.

- Removing the English language salary exemption threshold, which exempts applicants whose salary is over $96,400 from having to provide English language test results to obtain their visas

- Changes to the training benchmark requirement for sponsors; and

- Requiring applicants to provide penal clearance certificates.  This may delay applications as penal clearances are slow to obtain from many countries.

New Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visa due March 2018

A new Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa is flagged to replace the Subclass 457 visa in March 2018. According to Department of Immigration releases it will comprise two streams; (1) the Medium Term Stream, which will be very similar to the current Subclass 457 visa, and (2) the Short Term Stream, which will not provide a pathway to permanent residency.

The Medium Term Stream is for those applicants whose occupation is on the new ‘Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List’ (MLTSSL).  They will be able to obtain a 4-year TSS visa, renewable onshore, and will be able to access a permanent residence pathway (like the current temporary residency transition stream of the ENS) after 3 years.

Remaining TSS applicants whose occupations are on the Short Term Skilled Occupations List will be eligible for a 2-year visa that can only be renewed only once.  Unless their occupation moves to the MLTSSL they will not be able to be sponsored for permanent residency as of March 2018.

TSS visa applicants will need to have at least two years’ work experience in their skilled occupation, suggesting most student visa holders will be unable to obtain Subclass 457 visas from March 2018 onwards.

The TSS visa will also be costlier; the fee for a 4-year visa will double to more than $2400 and the fee for a 2-year visa will be $1150 (per person).

Changes for employers

The requirements for Employers looking to sponsor applicants onto new TSS visas will differ slightly from the current Subclass 457 regime.  All employers will now need to:

- Demonstrate they have tried to hire Australian candidates before sponsoring a foreign worker. Very limited exemptions will apply, including some intra-company transfers and if re-sponsoring staff who had worked in the position for 2 years or more, full-time.

- Contribute to a new training fund (rather than show they have been training their own employees)

- Pay a minimum wage in line with market rates. This is the current legal requirement but DIBP are considering prescribing a higher minimum threshold for sponsorship than the current $53,900, for some or all occupations.

- Provide tax file numbers so that wages actually paid to staff can readily be monitored against ATO records.

DIBP will publish details of employers found to have breached their sponsorship obligations as of December 2017.

Training and wage requirements for permanent employer sponsorship will be aligned with new TSS requirements as of March 2018.

Permanent visas for New Zealand Citizens

An additional permanent visa pathway will be available from 1 July 2017, for New Zealand citizens who arrived post 26 February 2001, but on or before 19 February 2016.  To qualify applicants will need to show that for at least 5 years they have lived in Australia and earned a wage equivalent to at least the TSMIT (currently $53,900).

Further Information:

We will continue to keep you updated as new regulatory and policy changes occur.  If you require advice specific to your situation please email office@jtimmigration.com.au.

How to lodge a partner visa application

A warning to customers planning to lodge a partner visa application IN PERSON at a DIAC office or Embassy.  A change in the law means you now need to post or courier your application or it will be returned as INVALID (meaning you could become unlawful).

Applicants whose visas are due to expire soon must take special care to ensure their application is received at DIAC before visa expiry, and should leave up to a week in advance, to ensure DIAC grants appropriate bridging visas to you before your visa expires.

Immigration fee hike on 1 September

The Immigration Department surprised everyone with one week’s notice of fee increases on 1 July; fees for some families rose by 400% overnight.  However, fees are set to increase fees AGAIN for applications lodged after 1 September 2013.

The average increase will be 15%.

When you choose to lodge your application is up to you, however, I know if it was me I would be lodging my visa application, if eligible, as soon as possible and spending my 15% on something nicer than visa fees.

This second round of increases means for a family of 4 the cost of applying for a 4 year work permit has gone up by an incredible 570% since 30 June, and for an employer sponsored permanent visa, 230%.

September 1st increases for some popular visa categories are set out below:

Please contact us for further details or assistance with submitting a visa application.

Who is migrating to Australia?

On 14 June 2013 the Department of Immigration and Citizenship released its report on 2011-2012 migration.

Over this period the drop in student numbers was marked; with a drop of 20.5 per cent of students, mostly in Victoria and NSW .

Permanent migrants numbered just over 245,000 and came predominantly from New Zealand, our largest source of permanent migrants, followed by India, the People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom. There may be a reduction of Indian and Chinese migrants in future years, however, due to the decline in overseas students.

The number of temporary work (Subclass 457) visa permits in 2011–12 represented less than one per cent of the 11 million workers in Australia or roughly equivalent to the number of professional workers in the Australian Capital Territory.

The proportion of Subclass 457 visa holders in professional and, technical and trades fields was shown to be far in excess of that for Australia’s general population.  This aligns with other recent studies which found most foreigners on a Subclass 457 visa had a job involving training Australian workers in the same business.

How much is migration affecting our population size?  The answer is it depends on the State.  In 2011–12, all states and territories experienced positive population growth. Natural increase exceeded net overseas migration in the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania.  The contribution of net overseas migration to population growth varied widely between states and territories—from 40.1 per cent of total population growth for the Australian Capital Territory to 151.7 per cent for Tasmania. The result for Tasmania is a special case, there are large numbers of people leaving the state.

In 2011–12, the population of Victoria was estimated to have increased by 88 966 people, a 1.6 per cent growth rate—in line with the national growth rate of 1.6 per cent. The state was estimated to have gained 38 067 people through natural increase and 49 696 people through net overseas migration. There was also an estimated gain of 1203 people from net interstate migration.

We are moving!

We are currently in the process of moving into a new office, in the same building, from Suite 604 to Suite 1508.  If you are coming for an appointment, please take the lifts to level 15 and turn right to reach us in our new offices.

Many thanks to our clients for their understanding.

Immigration and the tax office share information to stop fraud

The ATO has a new data matching project which will enable the immigration department to provide the ATO with the names, addresses and other details of temporary workers. These include sponsored subclass 457 visa holders, working holiday makers and students who applied for their visa between July 2008 and 31 March 2011.

The ATO seems concerned principally about non-compliance with tax return lodgement, tax registration and fraudulent activities concerning refunds. In addition, there appears to be a particular focus on students who work in Australia, possibly in breach of their visa conditions around work permission.  Effective compliance and collection action against visa holders before they depart Australia appears to be a key objective of this exercise.

This data matching activity is significant for visa holders as information gathered and shared by the ATO will be used by the immigration department to target compliance work such as:

- Penalising employers who have paid staff less than their nominated salary – noting also that the 457 visa may be cancelled if this has occurred;

- Cancelling student visas for breach of the 20 hour work limit;

- Follow-up for working holiday makers who have worked for more than 6 months for one employer;

- Spouse visa applicants recorded as having different addresses or spouses than those claimed in a visa application.

The new fraud public interest criterion 4020 could also be activated to refuse visas if ATO records indicate misleading/fraudulent information has been provided to DIAC.

Employers need to be prepared for ongoing audit activity as government regulators will continue collaborative targeting in pursuit of compliance and revenue.