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Tag Archives: Australian News

August 23, 2023

Kudos to Mr. Muhammad F. T. on securing a triumphant transition from a visitor visa (subclass 600) to a student visa (subclass 500). Armed with two master’s degrees, he aspires to further diversify his expertise by pursuing an IT master’s in Australia, facilitated by a Pre-Master’s program. Our adept assistance has also garnered him a remarkable 35% scholarship for his two-year full-time academic journey.

August 15, 2023
August 15, 2023

The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles, has announced that the number of people resettled in Australia’s Humanitarian Program will increase from 17,875 to 20,000 per year.​

This commitment will help ensure Australia plays its part in responding to the global humanitarian crisis, at a time where more than 100 million people are forcibly displaced and more than 2 million people are in urgent need of resettlement worldwide.

The Albanese Labor Government is delivering a humanitarian program that provides refugees with certainty and security as they rebuild their lives in Australia and contribute to our economy and society.

The Albanese Government is committed to securing our borders, while maintaining our sense of humanity and responsibility.

Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders policy architecture remains unchanged. Anyone who attempts an unauthorised boat voyage to Australia will be turned back to their point of departure, returned to their home country or transferred to another country.

All non-citizens who are found to not engage Australia’s protection obligations and have exhausted all avenues to remain in Australia are expected to depart as soon as possible.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles

“The Albanese Government reaffirms its commitment to those in need with an increase in our Humanitarian Program annual intake. This responsibility extends beyond their arrival, by providing robust support to refugees to ensure they are well equipped to settle into Australia and rebuild their lives with certainty.

“With more people displaced worldwide than ever before, the Albanese Labor Government is stepping up to play its part in the global resettlement effort in a responsible way. 

“Refugees have provided an invaluable contribution to our country- from Awer Mabil to Anh Do, Tan Le to Frank Lowy.” 

August 12, 2023

New rules for financial year 2023/2024 WA

WA Migration Services, on behalf of the WA State Government, provides WA State nomination to eligible applicants for two visa subclasses, which gives you extra points on the Department of Home Affairs points test:

  • the Skilled nominated visa (subclass 190) — an extra five points; or
  • the Skilled work regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491) — an extra 15 points.

Features of the 2023—24 program

  • no application fee;
  • equal invitation ranking for Interstate and Overseas candidates;
  • prioritised invitations for candidates with an occupation in a WA industry sector with critical demand for skilled workers; and
  • reduced employment requirements for candidates invited through a WA building and construction industry sector occupation.

Eligibility requirements

If you would like to be considered for an invitation for State nomination, your occupation will need to be eligible under the following streams.

  • General stream— A skilled migration pathway for a range of occupations and industry categories. Eligible occupations are listed on the WA Skilled migration occupation list (WASMOL) Schedule 1 or 2.  
  • Graduate stream— A skilled migration pathway for eligible international students who are completing vocational education and training (VET) or higher education qualifications in WA. Eligible occupations are listed on the Graduate occupation list (GOL).

Link: https://migration.wa.gov.au/our-services-support/state-nominated-migration-program

August 7, 2023

​​​​​​​​​​Australian aged care providers can now apply to access the new Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement. The Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement streamlines the recruitment of qualified direct care workers from overseas to work in the aged care sector. Employers can use this where appropriately qualified Australians are not available.

To access this labour agreement, employers must first enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the relevant industry union(s).


The purpose of the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement

You can use the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement to:

  • Sponsor overseas workers for the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa in direct care occupations such as:
    • Nursing Support Worker
    • Personal Care Assistant
    • Aged or Disabled Carer

      You need to have made recent and genuine attempts to recruit workers from the domestic workforce pool.
  • Sponsor overseas workers for permanent residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa program. Workers must have at least two years of full time work experience in Australia in a relevant direct care occupation. The two years of work experience is not tied to a particular employer or visa subclass.

Applying for the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement

To access the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, aged care providers must first enter into an MoU with the relevant unions(s):

Once the MoU is established, aged care providers can submit the labour agreement request to the Department of Home Affairs. Online labour agreement request forms are available in ImmiAccount.

For more information about entering into an MoU, contact your relevant industry union.

To learn more about labour agreements, see Labour agreements. You can also email labour.agreement.section@homeaffairs.gov.au.

Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement terms and concessions

  • Access the following concessions to standard skilled visa requirements:
    • two year pathway to permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme
    • streamlined visa nomination and priority visa application processing
    • no post qualification work experience requirement
    • English language concessions for workers with relevant community language skills
    • annual salary of at least $51,222 AUD or the Australian Market Salary Rate, whichever is higher.
  • Key visa application requirements:
    • hold a relevant AQF Certificate III or equivalent, or higher qualification. You can also have 12 months of relevant work experience or part time equivalence.
    • obtain a positive skills assessment from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council or the Australian Community Workers Association if you obtained your qualifications overseas. This also applies if you claim work experience in lieu of the formal qualifications.
    • have an English language proficiency level of at least IELTS 5.0 or equivalent. Workers with target community language skills employed by culturally and linguistically diverse aged care providers need at least IELTS 4.5 or equivalent.

We will consider labour market testing requirements satisfied once aged care providers have entered into an MoU with the relevant union(s).

Skill and qualification requirements will differ from those stipulated in ANZSCO. These will be specified under the terms of each Labour Agreement.

August 7, 2023

The time it takes for us to complete the review process depends on a range of factors, including:

  • the number of applications we receive
  • the number of members available to conduct reviews
  • the type of decision under review
  • the strategies we have in place for dealing with different caseloads
  • the complexity of the review.

As outlined in previous Annual Reports, applications for reviews in the Migration and Refugee Division have more than doubled in recent years (see our Statistics). We have been unable to keep pace with the increased workload with the resources available to us. This has impacted on how long it takes us to complete reviews. 

The following table shows the time taken to finalise reviews in a recent six-month period. The two columns below represent the time in calendar days that 50% and 95% of cases were finalised within, in the specified period.

These statistics are a general guide only, and we cannot guarantee that we will finalise any individual review within these timeframes.

 

Processing times in calendar days for reviews finalised between 1/12/22 and 31/05/23

Case category

50% of cases finalised within (days)

95% of cases finalised within (days)

Bridging12372
Family9181,595
Nomination/Sponsor approval1,3011,393
Partner1,3131,693
Permanent business1,2761,395
Skill linked6611,221
Student cancellation302659
Student refusal393533
Temporary work1,2001,546
Visitor318672
Other4341,239
Protection1,4652,075
Total for migration case categories7011,550
Total for protection case categories1,4652,075
Total1,1162,001

Note: 

These figures do not include cases where the Tribunal found it did not have jurisdiction to review the decision or cases that were withdrawn. These are usually finalised more quickly than other reviews. 

Can the review be processed as a priority?

The President’s Direction on Prioritising Cases in Migration and Refugee Division sets out the circumstances in which cases are prioritised. You can ask us to process the review as a priority by writing to us, fully explaining your reasons and providing supporting evidence.

Additionally, the Migration and Refugee Practice Direction outlines the strategies we have in place for dealing with different caseloads, including what types of cases may be eligible for expedited processing.

July 20, 2023

Short on time? Here are the highlights:

  • The Canadian government has opened a new programme to grant work permits to H-1B visa holder in the US
  • However, the programme was capped at 10,000 applications and that limit was reached within the first 48 hours after opening

A recent report from public policy advocacy group FWD.us provides a concise summary of the current situation for foreign graduates hoping to remain in the US to work:

“The United States has come to rely on the temporary H-1B work visa as its main—and sometimes only—high-skilled immigration policy tool…This over-reliance on the H-1B visa program creates choke points in our talent pipeline where skilled individuals either cannot move forward or simply choose to leave. Since 1997, the full H-1B visa cap has been exhausted every year prior to the end of the fiscal year…Simply put, there is a profoundly higher demand for these skilled workers than the current law is able to supply.”

In a surprising twist, the Canadian government moved to take advantage of that demand-supply gap earlier this month when it opened a new work permit pathway for H-1B visa holders.

The H-1B visa holder work permit is “meant to keep highly skilled workers in North America”, and is open to anyone with a valid H-1B visa already living in the US.

The new programme provides successful applicants with an open work permit for up to three years.

An accompanying government statement explains that, “If your passport expires in less than three years, your work permit will expire at the same time as your passport. You can’t get an extension under this initiative, but you may be able to get one under another programme.”

At the time it was first announced, the H-1B visa holder work permit was introduced as a temporary policy that would be in place for one year, or until 10,000 applications were received (whichever came first).

In a rather vivid illustration of the pent-up demand for work visas in the US, that 10,000-application threshold was reached in the first 48 hours after the programme launched.

“This rapid uptake underscores the high demand among U.S. H-1B visa holders for the opportunity to work and live in Canada,” reported The Hindustan Times. “The popularity of the Open Work Permit stream became evident when it reached its maximum capacity within an astonishingly short timeframe.”

As a result, the H-1B visa holder work permit programme is now closed to further applications for the time being. However, the programme has a somewhat experimental, or even “pilot programme”, feel to it. And no doubt policy makers in both Canada and the US, to say nothing of foreign graduates and employers, will be thinking carefully about any other such interactions between Canadian and American visa policy going forward.

July 6, 2023

2023-24 TASMANIAN SKILLED MIGRATION – STATE NOMINATION PROGRAM UPDATED

Tasmanian Skilled Employment Pathway – all occupations eligible for subclass 190 nomination.
All occupations on the Department of Home Affairs subclass 190 skilled occupations list are now eligible for subclass 190 nomination.
Candidates who have a skills assessment for an occupation listed on the Tasmanian Onshore Skilled Occupation List (TOSOL) are eligible for subclass 190 nomination after six months employment in a closely related role.
Candidates with a skills assessment for an occupation not on the TOSOL are eligible for subclass 190 nomination after 15 months employment in a closely related role.

Subclass 190 Tasmanian Established Resident pathway business income requirement adjusted according to TSMIT changes.
The candidate must have operated a business for at least the last two years with taxable earnings for the last 12 months equivalent to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (currently $70,000).

Subclass 491 Tasmanian Business Operator pathway.
The minimum personal taxable income from the business must be at least
$59,500 (85% of TSMIT).

Subclass 491 Tasmanian Skilled Employment Pathway
ANZSCO 4-5 employment must be of at least 12 months duration.

Changes to the Tasmanian Onshore Skilled Occupation List (TOSOL)

Changes have been made to the TOSOL for 2023-24 to reflect changes to Jobs and Skills Australia Skills Priority List for Tasmania.
The 2023-24 TOSOL will be used to determine eligibility for subclass 190 nomination the Tasmanian Skilled Employment – TOSOL Option nomination pathway, and to prioritise registrations of interest in the Migration Tasmania Gateway. It is based upon the Skills Priority List for Tasmania compiled by Jobs and Skills Australia.
Occupations on TOSOL are eligible for subclass 190 nomination in the Tasmanian Skilled Employment pathway after six months of closely related employment in Tasmania. Occupations that are not listed are eligible for subclass 190 nomination in the Tasmanian Skilled Employment pathway after 15 months of closely related employment in Tasmania.


The following occupation groups have been added to the TOSOL for the 2023-24 program year:
1325 Research and Development Managers 2336 Mining Engineers
2339 Other Engineering Professionals
3113 Primary Products Assurance and Inspection Officers 3234 Toolmakers and Engineering Patternmakers
3613 Veterinary Nurses
3623 Sports Turf Managers and Trades Workers 3624 Nurserypersons
3627 Landscape Gardeners and Irrigation Technicians 3921 Print Finishers and Screen Printers
4113 Diversional Therapists 4117 Welfare Support Workers
4523 Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials 5991 Conveyancers and Legal Executives

The following occupation groups have been removed from the TOSOL for the 2023-24 program year (candidates with employment of 6 months duration with a related skills assessment from these groups will remain eligible for subclass 190 nomination if employment commenced before 1 July 2023):
1211 Aquaculture Farmers
1311 Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Managers 1321 Corporate Services Managers
1351 ICT Managers
2231 Human Resource Professionals 2326 Urban and Regional Planners 2345 Life Scientists
2346 Medical Scientists
2513 Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals 3112 Medical Technicians (eg pathology collector)
3123 Electrical Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians
2421 University Lecturers and Tutors

Changes to priority attributes

These will only apply to ROIs submitted from 1 July 2023.

Family
Removing “passive” family-related attributes (spouse in Tasmania more than 6 months, other family members in Tasmania).
Keeping other “active” attributes (employment, Tas AQF6+ study)

Pay and Salary (including business income)
Updating income thresholds – TSMIT, Australian median earnings, Australian average earnings.

Before 1 July 2023 Post 1 July 2023
$53 900 per year or 27.64 per hour (TSMIT) $65,000 / $33.33 per hour (median earnings)
$62 000 per year or $31.79 per hour (median earnings) $70,000 / $35.90 per hour (TSMIT)
$90 617 per year or $42.62 per hour (average earnings) $94,000 / $48.21 per hour (average earnings)

• Earnings of $94,000 / $48.21 per hour is a Green attribute for all Tasmanian Skilled Employment, Tasmanian Skilled Graduate, Tasmanian Established Resident, Tasmanian Business Operator pathways
• Other income thresholds remain Orange attributes

Tasmanian Skilled Graduate
Additional Green attributes
• “You have completed 2 years of your PhD in Tasmania, or 1 year after completing your undergraduate study in Tasmania.”
• Graduate program offer – extension of qualifying period to within 12 months of graduation
“You have an offer for, but have not yet commenced in, a graduate employment program.

Tasmanian Established Resident – subclass 491
Additional Green attributes
• employed in Tasmania for last 2 years in a skilled role (ANZSCO 1-3) directly related to your skills assessment.
• employed in an ANZSCO 1-3 role in Tasmania for at least the last 3 months directly related to your skills assessment or Tasmanian study.
Additional Orange attributes
• You have been employed in Tasmania for at least the past 3 months in an ANZSCO 1-3 role in the same industry as your skills assessment.
• You have completed an AQF 6 or higher qualification with a Tasmanian education provider in Tasmania.

Tasmanian Established Resident – subclass 190
Additional Green attribute
• employed in an ANZSCO 1-3 role in Tasmania for at least the last 3 months directly related to your skills assessment or Tasmanian study.
Additional Orange attribute
• You have completed an AQF 6 or higher qualification with a Tasmanian education provider in Tasmania.

June 3, 2023

#VisaSuccess #EMKGlobal #AUS #Studentsubclass500

Congratulations 𝐉. 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧 for the approval of a 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭!

Visa Grant Date: 03 June 2023

Student visa granted in 2 working days – overstayed 28 days

𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝟐𝟖 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 & 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚.
 

Hussain was rushed to see our team last Thursday because he noticed that his student visa was already expired and he accidentally stayed unlawfully in Australia for the last 4 weeks.

We analysed his situation and promptly assisted him to submit a new student visa in no time. Our professional team assisted Hussain to explain and justify his negligence to the Department and at the same time applied for a Bridging visa for him.

We are so pleased that Hussain could be granted a new student visa in just 2 working days! We wish him the best of luck with his study at King’s Own Institute.

Students, remember to check your visa expiry date carefully and renew your visa on time to avoid future complications.

Contact EMK Global if you are accidentally in a similar situation or you would like us to assist with your visa and migration goals in Australia.

Book a consultation with our registered migration agent and dedicated counsellors via this link: https://shorturl.at/dhnOZ

June 3, 2023

#VisaSuccess #EMKGlobal #AUS #Studentsubclass500

Congratulations 𝐒. 𝐌. 𝐙. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐡 for the approval of a 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭!

Visa Lodgement Date: 02 June 2023
Visa Grant Date: 03 June 2023
Bachelor of Community Services course at Stott’s College
2nd student visa extension – onshore

The student came to Australia in 2021 to study Leadership and Management course. However, the study became harder when COVID-19 hit and the student could not keep up with his study. After 2 terms, he decided to withdraw this course and change to study Diploma of Community Services course at Trinity Institute.

However, their program is not ACWA accredited. Therefore, he came to see our Education Team and had professional advice from us to change to a better provider. Finally he chose Bachelor of Community Services at Stott’s College as this course is ACWA accredited.

With less than 24h of visa lodgement, the student has been granted a new student visa to pursue his study.

Should you need any assistance to enrol in your desired programs, apply for an Australian visa or seek for migration advice, our expert team is just one click away.

May 27, 2023
 
Congratulations 𝐌𝐫. 𝐓. 𝐓𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐫 & 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 for the approval of a 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭!
 
Visa Grant Date: 27 May 2023
 
Finally we have helped T. Tahir to reunite with his wife and son in Australia 
 
Talha came to us in January 2023 for advice to see if he could be eligible for any visa to stay further in Australia while his visitor visa was almost expired.
 
After discussing different options, Talha decided to advance his study with a Master program. Luckily, T. Tahir was granted a student in a short time, even he had a student visa refusal in the past.
 
After a couple of months living in Australia, T. Tahir would like to bring his family over because he missed them too much.
 
With the assistance of our migration team, the subsequent visa for T. Tahir ’s wife and son has been granted in less than a month.
 
We are very excited for T. Tahir’s family reunion and we wish him the best of luck with his future plan in Australia.
 
We are very proud of our 100% success rate till date with student dependent visa applications submitted.
 
Should you need any assistance to enrol in your desired programs, apply for an Australian visa or seek for migration advice, our expert team is just one click away.
May 23, 2023

#VisaSuccess #EMKGlobal #AUS #TemporaryGraduate

Congratulations to our dear client, 𝐌𝐫. 𝐀. 𝐑𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐚𝐪 & 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐟𝐞 for the 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 of 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝟒𝟖𝟓 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚.

Visa Lodgement Date: 21 May 2023
Visa Grant Date: 23 May 2023
485 Visa Grant (Main Applicant onshore, Spouse offshore) – Processing time in less than 2 months

A. Razzaq is a loyal customer with EMK Global. We assisted him with his admission previously. Due to personal reasons, he kept changing his education providers for 4 times, which made it hard for our Migration team to process his 485 visa application.

He got married in July 2022, which is less than 1 year old. But he really wanted to include his wife to his 485 visa application this time.

With our expertise, we finally managed to put everything together and convinced the Department to grant the Temporary Graduate Visa to both A. Razzaq and his spouse who is currently in Pakistan.

We wish him all the best of luck with his future endeavors.

Please contact EMK Migration Team today to get professional advice on 485 visa.

May 8, 2023

#VisaSuccess #EMKGlobal #AUS #Studentsubclass500

Congratulations 𝐌𝐫. 𝐌. 𝐇. 𝐌. for the approval of a 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭!

Visa Lodgement Date: 14 March 2023
Visa Grant Date: 08 May 2023
Diploma of Community Services at Trinity Institute

The student came to Australia in early 2019 to study Bachelor of Business in a reputed university. However, the study became harder when COVID-19 hit and the student could not keep up with his study.

The student was influenced by his friends and he quickly changed to study Automotive. Only after a term studying the course, he found that it was not the right study for him.
The student again changed to study Commercial Cookery because he had a part time job in the kitchen. But again, he found himself not fit in this industry.

While his visa was about to expire, he came to see our Education Team and had professional advice from us. We guided him with information about future career prospects in different fields and the student finally chose to study Community Services in August 2022.

After less than 2 months of visa lodgement, the student has been granted a new student visa now to pursue his study in Community Services. The student has learned his lesson now and he is determined to complete his study this time. We wish him the best of luck with his study and we hope he will be successful in the future.

If your visa is also about to expire and you want to continue to stay in Australia or you want to change your study abroad plan in Australia, please contact EMK Global immediately for further support!