The Australian Government has today announced that they will not accept applications for offshore general skilled visas, with this unprecedented measure taking effect from midnight 7 May, 2010. The temporary suspension will then remain in place until the end of the current program year on 30 June, 2010.

You can read the announcement here, where the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) state the following:

"The Australian Government has decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of new applications for certain General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas. The number of pending GSM applications continues to grow as the demand for GSM places exceeds the available supply. The temporary suspension is being implemented to ensure that the occupational profile of applicants for GSM clearly reflects the needs of the Australian labour market.

The temporary suspension will also facilitate the transition from the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) to the new SOL. It is anticipated that the Government will announce proposed changes to the SOL in May 2010.

The temporary suspension will apply from 8 May 2010. It is expected that it will cease at the end of the 2009-10 program year, that is at the end of 30 June 2010, subject to the approval of the Governor-General in Council of proposed amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 which will enable the implementation of the new SOL.

Temporary suspension means that people will not be able to lodge a valid application for an affected GSM visa for the duration of the suspension. The temporary suspension applies to all primary (main) applicants for the following GSM visas:

• Subclass 175 – Skilled Independent
• Subclass 176 – Skilled Sponsored and
• Subclass 475 – Skilled Regional Sponsored.

Applications for affected visa subclasses submitted on or after 8 May 2010 will be considered invalid and the application will be returned to the client together with the Visa Application Charge (VAC). However, associated fees such as those incurred for medical examinations, English language tests and skills assessments cannot be refunded as these payments were not made to the Government.

Applications for visa subclasses affected by the temporary suspension will be able to be made once the suspension has been lifted."

What does this mean for the future of the Australian Skilled Visa Program?

We had hoped that the time of knee-jerk Australian immigration decisions had come to an end. With the announcement of the new visa changes made on 8 February, 2010, it appeared that DIAC and the Australian government were taking a more transparent approach to the implementation of new legislation, with changes announced in advance of their introduction to seemingly allow visa applicants at least some time to finalise and lodge their application.

With this announcement though, any fleeting confidence we had in the Australian government's willingness to 'play fair' has been completely undermined. By abandoning their stated plans and making such a shocking announcement, they have completely undermined the efforts of all Australian skilled visa applicants, with this latest move essentially damning the hopes of many potential migrants.

I expect that this announcement also took the Australian States and Territories by surprise, and it will be interesting to see how they react to it given that they are in the midst of preparing the new State Migration Plans. Unfortunately, regardless of how much time, money and effort is spent by visa applicants or any other immigration stakeholders, the message being sent here is that it simply doesn't matter to the Australian government.

Additionally, when you take into account DIAC's failure to meet the 30 April deadline they set for the introduction of the new Australian SOL, it makes it almost impossible to put any faith in the timelines that they set. While they might indicate now that the GSM program will be opened again on 1 July, 2010, there still isn't any solid commitment to this deadline, making it very difficult for visa applicants and migration agents to prepare for the future. 

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

We recently launched a specialist service for applicants interested in the Immigrant Investor Program, a Canada Business Immigration Program pathway that enables business owners and qualified managers to immigrate to Canada with their families.

More information on the Canadian Immigrant Investor Program is available in our PDF brochure and potential applicants can receive a free assessment of their eligibility by completing our online enquiry form.

To provide a little more explanation though, qualifying for the Immigrant Investor Program is based on an assessment of two factors:

• The applicant's net worth; AND
• The applicant's business or management experience.

Meeting the net worth requirement

Net worth is determined by the value of an applicant's combined assets, which must exceed their combined liabilities by at least CA$800,000 (approx. £500,000). The figures used must be fair market value and evidence of this is required in the application. 

All assets must have been obtained legally and, in some instances, evidence of source of income is required.

Meeting the investor business ownership /management experience requirement

If an application relies on business ownership then the applicant will need to demonstrate that they part-owned and managed a qualifying business for at least 2 out of the past 5 years. A qualifying business is defined as one in which at least 2 of the following 4 criteria are satisfied:

• The percentage of equity of the applicant and their spouse in the business multiplied by the number of full-time job equivalents in the business is greater than or equal to 2;
• The percentage of equity of the applicant and their spouse in the business multiplied by the total annual sales is greater than or equal to CA$500,000;
• The percentage of equity of the applicant and their spouse in the business multiplied by the net income in the year is greater than or equal to CA$50,000;
• The percentage of equity of the applicant and their spouse in the business multiplied by the net assets at the end of the year is greater than or equal to CA$125,000.

Alternatively, if the application relies on business management experience as opposed to business ownership then the applicant will need to demonstrate that they managed the equivalent of at least 5 full-time employees per year in a business for at least 2 out of the past 5 years.

Making the investment and emigrating to Canada

Once an application is approved, the applicant is then required to make an investment of CA$400,000 with either the Canadian or Quebec government for a period of 5 years. In practice this investment is almost always financed, which significantly reduced the outlay and overall cost. As the Canadian Visa Bureau has banking relationships in Canada and the UK, we have access to the most competitive financing options available.

Once the applicant's Investor visa is approved they are then free to settle in Canada with their family. There are no restrictions once the applicant has settled in Canada. 

The Investor visa holder and their spouse are then free to work, set up business and purchase property. They will have access to state education, health care and other benefits enjoyed by Canadian citizens. After 3 years the Investor visa holder will be eligible for Canadian citizenship.

- Tom Blackett is Online Editor for the Canadian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

I recently learned that the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA), Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Australia and the Australian National Institute of Accountants (NIA), are all changing their assessing policies on 1 July, 2010. These are the three bodies that are responsible for assessing the skills of accountants, finance managers, corporate treasurers and external auditors applying to emigrate to Australia.

Each body is implementing an almost identical set of changes, which you can read for yourself by clicking here for the ICAA, here for the CPA or here for the NIA. Alternatively, read on for my interpretation of some of the key changes.

Changes to assessment pathways

One of the main changes is that there will no longer be two distinct pathways (i.e. either through membership of a recognised body or holding a qualifying degree). Instead, should an applicant hold membership of a recognised body, it will now need to be considered comparable to an Australian degree. That comparability is set by the Australian Education International National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR).

Having checked the Country Education Profiles on the AEI-NOOSR website, members of the ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW are all listed as comparable to an Australian degree, which is positive news for UK applicants. However, it also has the following note:

"Qualifications are assessed on a case-by-case basis if the holder earned the qualification by means other than a program of study (e.g. work experience), or was granted several subject exemptions in the program."

Therefore, on the basis of the above, it seems that people who are members of an accounting body but DO NOT have a degree and received exemptions from studying the full course to gain membership may have issues.

For example, we have seen some of our clients have gained membership with CIMA through receiving some exemption on units needed, should they have worked for many years in the industry beforehand. Under these new changes, it's possible that these same applicants may have difficulty qualifying.

Changes to units studied

Previously, applicants would need to study 9 out of the 12 units that the assessing body sets, with the applicant free to evidence which 9 of the 12 units they had studied in.

From 1 July, 2010, applicants will still need to study 9 out of the 12 units, but the assessing bodies will set 4 mandatory units, and then the applicant must choose 5 from the remaining 8 optional units. The assessing bodies break down (by occupation) which units are mandatory and which are optional in order to make the 9 out of 12 units.

Changes to IELTS requirements

It also appears that a score of at least 7.0 in all four core units of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test will be required for accountant assessing body applicants from 1 July, 2010. Currently, there is no news on whether there will be any exemptions for UK applicants.

Please understand that all these observations are made without a full, detailed explanation of all the changes being provided by the accounting assessing bodies, and also that much of my comments only relate to Australia visa applicants from the UK. Some parts of the changes still remain unclear as it appears there will be a much higher level of subjectivity applied to the accounting bodies' assessment process from 1 July, 2010.

Therefore, I do advise people to complete and lodge their skills assessments as soon as possible, in order to avoid any potential negative changes.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Upon the announcement of the most recent wave of Australian visa changes, it was announced that the Australian government would be replacing the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) with "a more targeted list of occupations to better meet the medium and long-term future skill needs of the Australian economy."

They also stated that "it is expected that the new SOL will be announced by 30 April 2010 and placed on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website and take effect from mid-2010." However, this 30 April deadline has now been missed, with the following updated posted on DIAC's website:

"Update on announcement of New Skilled Occupations List

The Government is considering the report from Skills Australia containing their Skilled Occupation List. An announcement and publication of the new Skilled Occupation List for Migration purposes will be made in May."

While the continued lack of clarification is frustrating, it will be interesting to see if DIAC provide any further comment on the delay of the SOL's announcement and whether this will delay its previously announced mid-2010 introduction (which is widely predicted to take place on the 1 July, 2010).

In the meantime though, I will continue monitoring the situation and provide updates as and when I receive them.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

The last twelve months have been a turbulent time for Australian immigration policy. We've seen change upon change announced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), as the Australian government continues to restructure its Australian visa legislation and processing structure to best reflect its economic needs and skill shortages.

While some policies, schemes and lists are phased out, and other new policies are considered and introduced, the effect on individual applicants can often be confusing and frustrating.

That's why I'd like to clarify the upcoming changes that are most pressing for anyone preparing to lodge an Australian skilled visa application. It's vital that any Australian visa applicant be aware of what they need to do right well and the timeframe within which they have to do it, in order to avoid being caught out by policy changes that might affect their skilled visa eligibility.

While you may already be aware of much of this, I would still encourage that you read through and remind yourself of what you need to be getting on with right now.

What is happening with Australian immigration?

2010 is shaping up to be another year of substantial visa changes. DIAC have already removed the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) from the skilled migration process, resulting in the elimination of any additional points granted to applicants in MODL occupations.

DIAC has also announced that they are preparing to introduce a new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) in 'mid 2010'. Currently, we are anticipating full details of the SOL to be released very soon, with a predicted date of 1 July, 2010 for its introduction (as this has typically been the case in previous years).

We are also awaiting the introduction of State Migration Plans, which are currently being drawn up between each individual Australian state and territory, DIAC, and the immigration minister. Beyond these specific changes, consultations continue to take place concerning a review of the points-based system.

In the midst of all this, states, territories and skills assessment bodies continue to adjust and tweak their policies and procedures. In a nutshell, as regular readers of the Visa Bureau blog will be all too aware, this is be a disconcerting time for those invested in the process.

Will I be affected by the changes?

Any change to legislation that affects your eligibility could have a direct and unavoidable impact on your ability to apply for an Australian skilled visa until your central visa application is submitted to DIAC.

There is a silver lining, however; in the recent past, DIAC have implemented changes with immediate effect and without any warning. On this occasion though, they have announced their intentions before introducing them.

As a result, applicants now have a window of opportunity in which to finalise any remaining elements of the application that need to be completed before lodging the main visa application itself.  Provided the application is then lodged before the changes are implemented, you should stand a better chance of avoiding any negative impact from legislation changes.

What should I do now?

Even though 1 July, 2010 is the time when we expect more changes to be implemented, it should not be treated as a definitive deadline by which to lodge your application. However, I would still advise all visa applicants to keep this date in mind and work quickly towards lodging their visa application.

Once you have received a positive skills assessment result and state sponsorship (if applicable), your focus should then be on completing and lodging your application as soon as possible.

- Matt Parker is a Caseworker for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

On 19 April 2010, changes to the minimum eligibility requirements for Australian business visa applicants were introduced.

These changes to the Business Skills Migration Program resulted in an increase in the net assets and / or business ownership requirements for a number of business visa subclasses, as well as the removal of the senior migration option for the subclass 163 visa. Read on for a more detailed explanation of each of the changes: 

Increased net assets for Australian business visa applicants

The minimum net business and personal assets required for the following sponsored provisional Business Skills visas have been increased from AU$250,000 to AU$500,000 in response to increases in the cost of living and business establishment costs:

• State / Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 163) visa
• State / Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) (subclass 164) visa

The minimum net business and personal assets required for the following provisional Business Skills visas ahve been increased from AU$500,000 to AU$800,000 in response to increases in the cost of living and business establishment costs:

• Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 160) visa
• Senior Executive (Provisional) (subclass 161) visa

Increased business ownership

Business migrants will now be required to own a substantial or controlling interest in a business to meet visa requirements. The minimum business ownership percentage required has been increased from 10 per cent to:

• 51 per cent where the business turnover is less than AU$400,000;
• 30 per cent where the business turnover is AU$400,000 or more; OR
• 10 per cent where the business is a publicly listed company.

This amendment applies to all business owner visas (subclasses 132, 160, 163, 890, 892, 845, 846).

Senior manager option removed from the Subclass 163 visa

Applicants who are employed as senior managers of a business can no longer apply for a State / Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 163) visa. Only business owners are now eligible for this visa.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Even though the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is potentially just days away from being officially released, that hasn't stopped rumours flying within the Australian immigration community about exactly which occupations will appear on the final list.

To give a little background regarding the new Australian SOL (although I imagine the majority of Australian visa applicants will be all too familiar with it!), it is set to act as a tool to determine both the occupations that Australia is in demand of and the order in which Australia visa applicants will be processed.

As a result, it will become a fairly critical part of the Australian visa application process, essentially determining which workers will and won't be eligible to be granted a skilled visa.

It's sparked a number of news reports, one of which was published recently in 'The Weekend Australian'.

The article focusses on the future of skilled migration to Australia as part of the re-vamped migration process and includes a number of quotes from Philip Bullock, the head of Skills Australia (which is the organisation that has been given the responsibility of forming the new SOL and presenting it to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for approval.)

As part of the printed version of this article, a table titled 'SKILLS WE NEED' was included, which we presume includes a number of the occupations set to be on the new SOL.

See below for this list, but once again, please understand that this is NOT the final SOL, and THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT ANY OF THESE OCCUPATIONS WILL APPEAR ON THE NEW SKILLED OCCUPATION LIST WHEN IT IS FORMALLY ANNOUNCED LATER IN APRIL 2010.

Construction managers Engineering managers Computer systems analysts Software and applications programmers Telecommunications and electrical engineers Civil engineering draftspersons and technicians Telecommunications technical specialists Air transport professionals Automotive electricians Marine transport professionals Motor mechanics Architects and landscape architects Urban and regional planners Aircraft maintenance engineers Chemical and materials engineers Bricklaters and stonemasons Industrial, mechanical and production engineers Carpenters and joiners Mining engineers Electronics trades workers Wood machinists and other wood trades workers Sign writers

Childcare centre managers Health and welfare services managers School principals and teachers Other education managers Registered nurses Psychologists Social workers Teachers of English to speakers of other languages Dental hygienists, technicians and therapists Optometerists and orhoptists Pharmacists Surgeons Other medical practitioners Lawyers Judicial and other legal professionals Accountants Auditors Actuaries Fire and emergency workers Police Veterinarians

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

There's been some good news for Australian Partner visa applicants who do not have children with their Australian partner sponsor, as the amount of cohabitation evidence required for them to receive a Permanent (subclass 100) visa has been reduced from 5 years to 3 years as of 27 March, 2010.

You can read the official legislation change update notification here. To provide some explanation though, applicants for an Australian Partner visa don't get to choose whether they are applying for a Permanent (subclass 100) or a Temporary (subclass 309) visa. Instead, this decision is made by the Australian High Commission once the application enters processing, with whether the applicant has had any children with the Australian partner sponsor and the amount of cohabitation evidence supplied all key factors in determining the High Commission's decision.

Cohabitation evidence is anything that demonstrates the length of time that the applicant and their Australian partner sponsor have lived together and shared financial committments, with the best regarded evidence typically being evidence of joint ownership of real estate, evidence of shared finances and evidence of shared bills / expenses etc.

While an Australian Partner visa applicant who is married to an Australian but doesn't have any children with them can be put forward for the Temporary (subclass 309) visa without providing any substantial cohabitation evidence, to be considered eligible for the Permanent (subclass 100) visa, they would be required to submit at least 5 years cohabitation evidence under the previous rules. 

However, these evidentiary requirements have now been reduced, making it possible now for Australian Partner visa applicants to be considered eligible for the Permanent (subclass 100) visa by demonstrating only 3 years cohabitation evidence.

The rules remain the same for Australian Partner visa applicants who DO have children (i.e. they will still need to provide 2 years cohabitation evidence to receive the Permanent (subclass 100) visa) and unmarried / de facto Australian Partner visa applicants without children (i.e. they will still need to provide 12 months cohabitation evidence and will only be eligible for the Temporary (subclass 309) visa).

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manage for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

With the world of Australian immigration so tumultuous as of late, the opportunity to communicate directly with the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is always one we're happy to take advantage of.

That's why we welcomed the invitation to the Migration Agents Forum held yesterday, the 30 March, 2010, at the Australian High Commission in London. It was an event held to give registered migration agents in the UK the chance to engage with senior members of DIAC.

As DIAC's Regional Director for Europe, David Wilden presided over the forum. He began by reiterating the reasons behind 2010's Australian immigration changes, citing the pressure placed on the Australian government to focus on border control and a need to "get the balance right" as the primary drives for change.

However, despite Mr Wilden's willingness to provide an open and honest insight into the inner workings of DIAC, the underlying theme of the forum was that there simply wasn't any vital new information to be divulged. This is due to the fact that the changes which have raised the most questions and remain unclarified are also the ones which remain out of DIAC's hands at this time, making it very difficult for Mr Wilden to provide any new insights.

For example, even though a draft version of the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) was recently released, we still remain unsure of exactly which occupations will appear on it. As this new list of targeted occupations is still to be determined by the independent body 'Skills Australia' though, there was little Mr Wilden could do other than reiterate what we've already heard and that the announcement date of the new SOL remains 30 April, 2010.

Another important change that agents were keen to discuss was the introduction of the new State Migration Plans. When asked whether applicants who had previously been approved for nomination by an Australian State or Territory would be transferred to that State or Territory's new State Migration Plan, Mr Wilden responded "I don't believe [the applicants] will have to reapply".

Unfortunately though, as the State Migration Plans are still in the process of being developed by the individual Australian State and Territory governments, I find it hard to lend too much credence to Mr Wilden's response. Given the huge numbers of applications made for State/Territory nomination that were made when priority processing was first introduced, it seems unlikely that everyone granted nomination then will still be eligible under the new State Migration Plans.

I do appreciate Mr Wilden's open approach though, and he seemed open to criticism and guidance on where DIAC could improve. For example, he acknowledged that the review of panel doctors (which saw the number of eligible panel doctors in the UK slashed from 250 to just 8) received a mixed reaction from migration agents and visa applicants, and indicated that this situation may be addressed in the future.

So, despite an element of frustration in still not knowing exactly what to expect going forward, I still hope that these forums will become a regular event. The ability to discuss the most current migration issues with senior members of DIAC will always provide some useful insights into their working processes, even though they might not always have the answers for the questions that most deserve them.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.