It's been a hectic year of Australia immigration changes, with the number of updates to visa legislation leaving many migrants (as well as their migration agents) frustrated. However, we're starting to see signs that we're not the only ones left aggravated by the constant setbacks; see below for a recent piece of correspondence we received from the South Australia General Skilled Migration (GSM) unit:

"We regret that due to undertaking numerous (and sometimes unreasonable) requests for fast-tracking of sponsorship applications, the GSM Unit has not been able to meet our service standards.  This is at the cost of the general applicants who have factored in our processing times.
 
In the interest of customer service to current applicants, this is to advise you that the GSM Unit will not be fast-tracking any sponsorship application regardless of the reason for the urgency, including the increase in IELTS for on-shore applicants which will come into effect on 1 January 2010.  Every effort will be made to make decisions on Permanent sponsorships within 4 weeks of receipt of all documents; and within 8 weeks of receipt of all documents for Provisional sponsorships."

It's a sign of just how overwhelmed some Australian States and Territories have become as a result of the visa processing changes, as they state that they are currently failing to meet their service standards and will be refusing to fast-track any sponsorship applications as a result.

Typically, applying for sponsorship from an Australian state or territory has been one part of the Australia visa application process where an applicant can expect some leniency (in terms of a State or Territory department responding positively to any specific requests made). However, it seems that going forward, that may no longer be the case.

While the migration industry has always had to be malleable and change with legislation, the number of updates in 2009 has been almost relentless, with the current rules in danger of stretching many migration stakeholders to breaking point unless some relief is offered by the Department of Immigration.

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

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

More potential Australia immigration issues could be on the horizon following the visa processing changes made by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) on 23 September.

While further announcements may be made in the near future which could change things again, we always advise that anyone applying for an Australia visa follow the current legislation and policy as it stands now, and prepare for the possibility that it may remain in place for some time.

With that in mind, one of the potential issues is that of dependent applicants growing beyond dependency before the application is finalised.

Therefore, should you have a dependent child aged 15 or above included in your visa application, this blog really should be considered essential reading.

Why could there be an issue with my dependent children?

Under current legislation, once a child reaches the age of 18, dependency is no longer assumed and must be proven at the end of the process (i.e. when the visa application is assessed and a decision is made).

It is possible that DIAC will begin to assess applications as per an applicant's circumstances at the time of lodgement. Should they announce this, or introduce some other form of leniency or provisions to account for applicants with dependants, then we do not anticipate this will be an issue.

However, should DIAC choose to keep the requirement that any dependants REMAIN dependent throughout the application process and at the end of processing when assessing applications and your child is 18 or over at that time, you may be asked to prove that they remain dependent on you. If you are unable to prove this, there is no guarantee that they will remain eligible to remain on the application.

How can I prove dependency?

Dependency is demonstrated through providing:

• A completed Form 47A (Details of child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over); AND
• Third party evidence (such as confirmation that your dependent child is in full-time education or requires financial support to meet their basic needs).

If they are in work this would need to be declared, although payslips are accepted as proof of low income.

We'll cover this issue in more detail as further information is released, and at this stage, we are simply encouraging Australia visa applicants to keep it in mind so that if there is a significant wait before your application is processed, appropriate decisions can be made to ensure that migrating dependants remain verifiably dependent.

This issue, among several others, is one which we hope DIAC will address in the near future, and we'll be sure to update our blog with more information as firmer directions on this issue are released.

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

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

In an interesting article from The Guardian today, the secret life of British High Commission workers across the world was revealed to be... well, not so secret after all.

Many of them have taken to writing candid blogs about their experiences, ranging from the British embassy official in Kiev writing about a "troupe of Ukrainian folk dancers performing outside the embassy" in protest at their UK visa refusal to the governor of the Cayman Islands uploading pictures of a group of green iguanas that had taken residency on the embassy's roof.

They're described as 'blogger ambassadors', with over 30 diplomats now writing blogs after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provided them with the means to share their experiences with the web.

Leigh Turner, the recently appointed ambassador in the British embassy in Kiev commented: "For the last 20 or 30 years there's been public diplomacy. The aim is to influence the opinion in the country you are in. You can do it through making speeches, giving newspaper interviews and doing British Council stuff. Writing a blog is just a natural extension of that. It's also fun."

It's a far cry from the days when an ambassador's only means of communication was the humble telegram, but it's certainly encouraging to see British diplomacy evolve with the digital age.

- Tom Blackett is Online Editor for the UK Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

Tired of hearing reports of MPs cheating tax payers? Exhausted by the constant claims that we're living in 'broken Britain'? If so, then it might be time to start thinking about New Zealand immigration, as the 'Land of the Long White Cloud' was named the world's least corrupt nation earlier this week. 

New Zealand topped Transparency International's list of 180 countries, displacing Denmark from the top. The aim of the list is to rank 180 countries on a scale of zero to 10 according to 13 independent surveys (with 0 being perceived as 'highly corrupt' and 10 as having 'low levels of corruption').

The top five countries and their scores were as follows:

1. New Zealand - 9.4
2. Denmark - 9.3
3. Singapore - 9.2
4. Sweden - 9.2
5. Switzerland - 9.0

Still feeling the fallout from the furore over MPs' expenses, Britain only just scraped into the top 20, coming 17th in the list with a score of 7.7. However, it could have been worse; on the other end of the scale were countries left unstable or impacted by war and ongoing conflicts, with the list giving the bottom five countries and their scores as follows:

1. Somalia - 1.1
2. Afghanistan - 1.3
3. Myanmar - 1.4
4. Sudan - 1.5
5. Iraq - 1.5

Commenting on the list was Huguette Labelle, chairwoman of Transparency International, who said: "Stemming corruption requires strong oversight by parliaments, a well-performing judiciary, independent and properly resourced audit and anti-corruption agencies, vigorous law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows, as well as space for independent media and a vibrant civil society."

So, while the chief appeal of New Zealand might still be its epic landscapes, gorgeous beaches and laid back lifestyle, it's also nice to know that when you apply for a visa to work in New Zealand, it's a little less likely that your taxes will end up paying for a politician's duck house.

- Tom Blackett is Online Editor for the New Zealand Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

It's been almost two months since 23 September's changes to the visa processing priorities, and applicants are still reeling from them; unsurprising, considering that thousands of people who were within weeks or months of receiving an Australia visa grant have now been told that they will have to wait until 2012 for their application to be finalised.

It was a move by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) that we described as "badly researched, ill conceived, poorly managed and a step backwards for Australian immigration policy" in this blog, which seems to be an opinion shared by many of the applicants affected by the changes.

In fact, some are so frustrated by DIAC's "extremely unfair practice" that they have set up an online petition to protest the changes. Click here to see it for yourself, or read on for Frank Claassen's introduction to the petition:

"On September 23 2009, the Australian Department of Immigration & Citizenship announced its new list of processing priorities for the General Skilled Migration program effective immediately. Unlike prior changes, the latest changes have been applied to all GSM applications, both unallocated applications and applications already allocated to Case Officers and in the process of being finalized.

We feel the implementation of these changes to applications already in the process of being finalized to be an extremely unfair practice and respectfully ask the department to reconsider this decision. We ask that DIAC apply fair practice and not penalize applications already in the process of being finalized.

It is unfair to make applicants wait even longer when we are so close to the end of what is a most stressful experience and have already spent thousands on medicals, police clearances and other associated costs which will now go to waste and probably have to be redone.

Many of us have been involved with the immigration process for very long periods, some close to two years or more. Each time we get close to getting our visas, the rules change and our families are placed under further undue stress and we have to continue living in limbo.

This petition is also in support of the petition against the changes that were implemented in January 2009 which have negatively affected applications lodged under the 2007 - 2008 rules, which can be viewed here."

While it's always encouraging to see the Australian immigration community band together like this, DIAC aren't in the habit of bending to public pressure (as Minister of Immigration Chris Evans emphasised in his recent radio interview, where he stoically defended the department's actions).

Sadly, with DIAC under pressure from other governmental departments and Australian bodies to more tightly target Australia’s skills needs with the General Skilled Migration program, it seems unlikely that the petition will become anything more than a cathartic way for frustrated applicants to let their feelings on the changes be known.

However, with the soon to be announced MODL review set to make sweeping changes to Australia immigration, hope is still on the horizon for the thousands of affected applicants. While it seems very unlikely that the September 23 changes will be reversed, the MODL review could provide a new pathway for affected applicants, or at least provide more applicants with access to priority processing. Unfortunately though, any positive updates to the Australian migration process will only be made as and when DIAC are ready.

- Tom Blackett is Online Editor for the Australian Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

While the Australia visa processing delays are big news to us and our clients, the news hasn't really permeated mainstream media. However, it was gratifying to hear Australian Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans questioned by presenter Peter Mares on ABC radio's 'The National Interest' programme last Friday.

You can listen to it for yourself by clicking here; the entire interview is just under 15 minutes in length, and is recommended listening for anyone caught by the Australian visa processing changes (although Senator Evans' statement that "it's not a delay in processing, it's a prioritising" is unlikely to provide any relief to applicants who have had their application 'prioritised' until at least 2012).

The interview was full of interesting quotes from Senator Evans including his statement that there are now approx. 30,000 onshore and 105,000 offshore visa applicants delayed as a result of the processing priority changes), but see below for some more choice quotes from the Australian Immigration Minister:

Senator Evans on the status of applicants caught by the processing changes:

"They're not on hold. What people do is they apply for permanent migration to Australia, and they're assessed, and we determine, based on the needs of Australia and our priorities, who gains permanent migration. We operate the scheme in support of the national interest so people may be facing longer waits in some occupations but others are getting quicker treatment if they're in occupations which are necessary for the growth of our economy."

Senator Evans on the changes to priority processing and the long waits many visa applicants are facing:

"They've always had to wait. We determine the size of the migration program. Quite frankly, if we decide that it's going to be 10,000 people next year, they might be waiting 20 or 30 years. We're trying to give them an indication on the current policy settings and current levels of migration on when they're likely to have their application considered. Applying to migrate to Australia doesn't give you the right to migrate to Australia."

Senator Evans on the possibility of refunds for General Skilled Migration applications:

"I've asked my department to have a look at whether we can't we can do something in terms of people who've have paid application fees but seek to discontinue their application, because I do think the current system doesn't do well in that area." 

(Minister Evans later clarified his position, stating that that the government is "not in the position to give refunds as the legislation prevents it" but stating that they "keep accepting applications from people who don't qualify" and they are looking at alternative systems so "people aren't paying the money up front".)

It will be interesting to see if Senator Evans provides any further comment on the current Australian visa processing priorities situation, although an announcement regarding the MODL review changes should be made relatively soon, which might finally provide potential migrants with an understanding of what to expect from the Department of Immigration in the future.

- Tom Blackett is Online Editor for the Australian Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

In contrast to the Stirling, the Australian Dollar is performing well but Director of Halo Financial, David Johnson, says there are still ways to take full advantage of currency spikes and make your money mean more when you emigrate to Australia.

Although we speak the same language (give or take a vowel or two) and drive on the same side of the road, there are very many differences between Australia and Britain. Barbeques in Britain are sporadic and a little damper, Australian prawns would be called lobsters in a British restaurant and thongs are worn on the feet in Australia (don’t ask).

But currently, the other very significant difference between the UK and Australia is where each economy sits in its economic cycle. That’s important because it is directly affecting the value of your funds as you move them from Sterling into Australian Dollars to start your new life Down Under. 

As well as being 10,000 miles apart, Britain and Australia are a world apart in the condition of their respective economies. Technically speaking, Australia didn’t actually fall into recession, unlike the UK which is still in decline; Australia exports a wide variety of raw materials used by manufacturers in the Far East while the UK is largely an importer of far eastern finished goods and Britain’s exporters mainly rely on Europe and America as overseas markets but neither of these economies are completely free from recessionary pressures.

The other major difference is that the Australian authorities only felt compelled to heft AU$20 billion into the economy to avert the impending recession whereas the British authorities have already provided £200 billion of quantitative easing and some 40 billion of bank support.

That gargantuan hole in the books of the UK government and the decades that it will take to balance the books again are very worrying for investors who are steering clear of the Pound and, lured by the high and rising level of interest available on Australian deposits, are investing in Australia in their droves.

Consequently, until there is a seismic change in the state of the UK economy or until other interest countries hike their interest rates sufficiently to compete with Australia, we have to consider any spikes in the Sterling - Australian Dollar exchange rate to be AUD buying opportunities. I tend to agree with Whitney M. Young, Jr. who said “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” That preparation in this instance is to make use of the resources available to you.

Be prepared and take advantage of opportunities

Making use of a specialist currency provider like Halo Financial means you will not only know how high the exchange rate is likely to rise and be able to have a target exchange rate monitored on a 24 hour basis but even if that advantageous exchange rate occurs before you are ready to convert your funds, a specialist will be able to help you secure that rate by booking a forward contract for settlement on a date that fits in with your plans.

There are numerous other services that a specialist can offer but which are not generally available from high street banks but the most crucial is the fact that Halo Financial’s clients receive exchange rates which are much closer to the real market prices rather than the bureaux de change type exchange rates or the rather expensive ‘rate for the day’ that many high street banks offer for these kinds of transactions. 

In fact, just like the UK and Australia, it could be said that the services available from banks and currency specialists are worlds apart but at least you don’t have to take a 24 hour flight to test out the services that Halo Financial offers. Those are just a phone call or the click of a mouse away.

- Halo Financial is a leading specialist provider of commercial foreign exchange services for both international business and private individuals who require foreign currency and need expert assistance in successfully managing their foreign exchange exposures. They are a partner of Australian Visa Bureau, an independent company specialising in helping applicants emigrate to Australia.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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 received news last week that changes are set to be made to New Zealand immigration policy on 30 November. You can see the full list of changes by clicking here, but the most pertinent piece of information for anyone looking to make an application for a New Zealand work visa is the following:

"Minimum income requirement for dependent children of Essential Skills work visa or permit holders

A minimum income threshold requirement has been added for work permit and visa holders under the Essential Skills policy in order for their dependent children to live in New Zealand. This is to ensure that the children have a appropriate level of financial support, given that these families are not eligible for state-funded income support."

This essentially means that anyone migrating to New Zealand on an Essential Skills policy work visa with dependent children must have a minimum income to be granted the visa. Through further investigation into the legislation, I have found that the minimum income threshold is NZD$33,675 gross p/a (which converts to approx. GBP£15,000 gross p/a), based on today's exchange rates.

A further caveat is that this income must be met and maintained wholly by the salary or wages of a parent or parents holding an Essential Skills work visa/permit.

Evidence must be provided of the Essential Skills work permit holder’s current salary or wages to satisfy a visa or immigration officer that the applicant’s parent/s meet the minimum income threshold.

- Jodie List is Casework Department Manager for the New Zealand Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

If you are planning to immigrate to New Zealand chances are you have been anxiously watching the exchange rates.  Halo Financial Director, David Johnson, looks at the reasons behind the current situation and what we can look forward to in the near future.

There are some very obvious reasons for the Sterling - New Zealand Dollar exchange rate languishing at near 25 year lows.

What is less clear is just what it is going to take to make the Pound rally enough to ease the financial pain of those migrating to New Zealand.

The reasons for NZ Dollar strength largely fall into three camps. Firstly, New Zealand has a base interest rate of 2.5% whilst the UK base rate is just 0.5% and the US, EU, Japan and almost every other industrialised country is keeping its base rate historically low in order to stimulate domestic growth. Consequently, investors can borrow money at virtually zero interest rates elsewhere and invest in Kiwi assets for a guaranteed yield advantage but they need to buy NZ Dollars to do so and that strengthens the currency. 

Secondly, the global recovery is starting on New Zealand’s doorstep in the Far East; creating a very healthy market for NZ exports as evidenced by this month’s improved dairy auction prices. And thirdly, the New Zealand economy has fared far better than equivalent western hemisphere economies during these troubled times and even though unemployment hit a 15 year high last month, most analysts would agree that unemployment lags the recovery and doesn’t alter the fact that NZ is already out of recession.

On the UK side of things, well the Great British Pound is a bit of a misnomer these days. The weakness in Sterling means it can hardly be described as "Great" but it is still British and it is certainly getting pounded. The astronomical size of UK government debt is the main concern because it will take decades for Britain to rid itself of this black hole and the cost of servicing all that debt will weigh on government spending for many years to come. That acts like a trailing anchor on growth and is perhaps one of the reasons why the UK is the only G10 country that has not yet recovered from recession.

In response to this lack of growth, the Bank of England announced a further £25 billion expansion of their cash creation program, a process which goes by the pseudonym "quantitative easing". Now that’s a case of calling a spade a "manually operated soil relocating implement" if ever I saw one.

Room for recovery

So on the face of it, it would seem utter folly to expect the Pound to strengthen against the New Zealand Dollar but we have to remember where this exchange rate was just a year ago. In October 2008, this pair was trading up around NZ$2.90. There was an unexpected spike to NZ$3.00 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers but that lasted no more than a matter of hours. Since then, we have witnessed a slide to NZ$2.13 and we have seen a grinding recovery to NZ$2.30 at the time of writing.

A fall of 77 cents followed by a bounce of just 17 cents would suggest there ought to be more room for recovery. Traders around the globe watch mathematically calculated retracement levels which suggest we ought to see NZ$2.42 and perhaps even NZ$2.51 in the months ahead. The key is not necessarily knowing when this might happen but having the resources to take advantage of such a move whenever it does occur and whether it happens on the very day you need to convert your funds or a few months before all your funds are available.

Take advantage with the right tools

At Halo Financial our role in your migration is to make sure you are aware of the market movements, are able to take advantage of advantageous exchange rate movements and have the tools at your disposal to secure the best exchange rate available within your time frame.  That exchange rate will comfortably better high street bank rates as will the level of service you will receive. So however and whenever the Pound recovers, with Halo Financial as your currency partner, you are in prime position to take advantage.  

- Halo Financial is a leading specialist provider of commercial foreign exchange services for both international business and private individuals who require foreign currency and need expert assistance in successfully managing their foreign exchange exposures. They are a partner of New Zealand Visa Bureau, an independent company specialising in helping applicants emigrate to New Zealand.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.

Knowing what to do with your pension when you emigrate to Australia can be one of the hardest decisions to make. However, read on for professional advice from Adam Roderick of pension and finance experts Prism Xpat:

Right, you are moving to Australia and there is a lot to do. It’s all finally going to happen now and you need to sort out the most important things first (jobs, schools, houses) and take short cuts wherever you can. Unfortunately, one shortcut many people take is to accept the apparently common view that UK pensions should just be moved to Australia without being given too much thought. In the current financial climate though, this is one shortcut you might just regret!

This current common view is almost a complete turnaround since just three years ago, when most people and advisers would not even consider giving up the valuable terms and conditions provided by UK employment pension funds. 

A possible reason for this change of heart is Australia has recently dropped all superannuation (their word for pension funds) taxes after age 60. However, the retirement taxes weren't that high anyway, so a more likely reason is that many advisers (despite the Financial Service Authority's best efforts) still seem to operate a "salesy" approach to advice and get commissions only if their customer moves money (hence why many of them are still advocating a transfer regardless of the migrant's specific situation).

What do I need to know?

What migrants need to know is that there are important subtle factors with pensions that will have a significant effect on their final retirement income. For example, over a 25 year period just a 2% extra investment return each year, after tax, will mean 50% more retirement income to live off! That could mean enjoying $30,000 per year instead of just getting by on $20,000 per year for the rest of your life.

Did you know Australian superannuation funds have annual taxes on the investment returns within the fund each year? Or that Australian funds tend to have much higher annual charges than UK employer or stakeholder funds? You may have heard that even simple UK funds (money purchase funds) can have terms that provide a guaranteed income in retirement.  These impacts can easily turn the tables on whether or not a cross border pension transfer is worthwhile. The list goes on and on...

What is my Critical Yield?

A Critical Yield tells you: "What investment return would my new fund need to earn between now and retirement, to be high enough to provide an income equal to what my employer’s fund will pay me?"

The Financial Services Authority suggests only high risk takers should consider a pension transfer unless the critical yield is under 7% per annum. By this, I mean that the mandatory "Transfer Value Analysis" that must be done would need to produce a result where you would only need 7% returns each year (or less) to buy an annuity equal to your final salary fund’s promise. 

If you're interested in taking this route, then good luck but it is extremely rare that you’ll see critical yield calculations this low in the current market. Generally you’d need much higher returns to beat your final salary income. 

What to do?

Despite all these examples, there are situations where it can be valuable to proceed. To avoid all the confusion you need to obtain top quality advice in analysing your pension scenario.

For more information on the key rules, including what happens if you miss Australia’s 6 month window for a tax free transfer, please use our online financial assessment or call +44 (0)845 450 4004.

- Prism Xpat is a trading style of Xpat Ltd which is authorised & regulated by the Financial Services Authority. They are a partner of Australian Visa Bureau, an independent company specialising in helping applicants emigrate to Australia.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2009

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.