Australia Bound Migration

22/03/2020

The Department of Home Affairs on Friday announced Australia’s major supermarkets will temporarily be able to offer more hours to international student employees to help keep shelves stocked.
Employers can request for relaxation of enforcement of student visa working hours:https://svcr.homeaffairs.gov.au/

There are allready a number of employers allowed to employ international students for more than 40 hours per fortnight, the list is here:https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/current-alerts/entities-temporary-relaxation-student-working-hours

20/01/2020

Changes to the skilled migration occupations list will be announced in March 2020.
There is a chance that the following occupations will be included:
Aged or Disabled Carer
Nursing Support Worker
Personal Care Assistant
Corporate Treasurer
Following occupations might be removed:
Careers Counsellor
Vehicle Trimmer
Business Machine Mechanic
Animal Attendants and Trainers
Gardener (General)
Hairdresser
Wood Machinist
Massage Therapist
Community Worker
Diving Instructor (Open Water)
Gymnastics Coach or Instructor
If your occupation is listed above you should consult a registered migration advisor to investigate your visa options. please contact Andrew Kurowski at [email protected]

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17/01/2020

Temporary Graduate Subclass 485 Visa - Basic Facts and Pitfalls
This time of the year we get lots of inquiries about 485 visa. Many students complete their courses in December and their student visa expire soon after li February or March. Although it is a relatively simple application the refusals are very common. They are mainly due to not complying with the time of application requirements like English test result, AFP certificate or evidence of lodged skills assessment. With other visas most of the requirements are time of decision so they can be provided post lodgement but in case of 485 even if the applicant gets the documents soon after the lodgement the application must be refused.
The Temporary Graduate subclass 485 visa is a work visa for international students who have completed 2 years of study in Australia. It is a way to extend your stay in Australia and to give you an opportunity to improve your chances of becoming eligible for a permanent or provisional skilled visa.
Special Offer: Comprehensive assistance with 485 Post Study Stream application for a single applicant - $880. Includes advice on your plan to PR. The offer expires 3 February 2020
Please contact Andrew at [email protected]

23/10/2019

Changes to WA State Nomination Migration Program for the Graduate Stream
The State Nomination Migration Program Graduate stream will soon be more accessible for international students who study in Western Australia.
WA government announced that the Graduate Stream will be extended to include vocational education and training graduates who complete a qualification in WA at Certificate III level or above, excluding trade occupations (unless approved for delivery to international students).
The first invitation round to include VET graduates will be issued on December 2019.
Work experience and job offer requirements will also be reduced. Graduates will need to either demonstrate six months of work experience or a six-month employment contract, but not both. Currently, international students need to have 12 months of work experience plus a job offer for 12 months.

22/09/2019

The Important Features of New Subclass 491 and 494 Visas

The two new regional provisional visas will be available to the applicants in November 2019. They are both are intended to lead to permanent residency.

The Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa

This is a new and enhanced points-tested visa to assist regional Australia, for applicants nominated by a state or territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible family member residing in a designated regional area. This visa will be valid for five years.
Basic eligibility requirements include that an applicant may be in or outside Australia at the time of lodging their visa application. Similarly, to the 489 Regional Visa (to be repealed in November 2016) A visa applicant must be invited to apply for this visa by the Minister visa Skill Select. At the time of invitation, an applicant must not have turned 45
Introduction of this visa will also see revised points system applicable to current skilled visas including Subclass 189 – Skilled Independent and Subclass 190 – State Nominated visas.
Following are the changes to the points system:
• more points for having a skilled spouse or de facto partner (10 points);
• more points for applicants nominated by a State or Territory government or sponsored by a family member residing in regional Australia (15 points);
• more points for having certain STEM qualifications (10 points);
• points for applicants who do not have a spouse or de facto partner (10 points); and
• points for applicants with a spouse or de facto partner who has competent English (5 points).

Skilled Sponsored (Provisional) Regional 494 Visa

This visa will have two streams, Employer Sponsored and Labour Agreement so the essentiale element of this visa id having an employer willing to sponsor. Applicant will need to be under 45 years of age at the time of application and have a suitable skills assessment unless exempted.

Designated Regional Area
At the commencement of the new regional provisional visas it is intended that the designated regional areas will include all of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

To discuss the suitability of these visas for you please follow this link: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=17737105

24/08/2019

Regional Visa Opportunities - DAMA Agreements
The Designated Area Migration Agreement also referred to as the “DAMA” or “DAMA visa,” is designed to assist employers operating in regional areas who have specific needs to recruit skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers for positions they are unable to fill with Australian workers.
The DAMA can be approved for a larger amount of occupations and may have lower requirements. The migrant workers can be nominated for the temporary working visa TSS or permanent residency visa ENS.
There are six DAMA schemes operating in Australia
If you interested in discussing and finding out the opportunities available for you by these schemes, please book consultation be following this link:

Schedule your appointment online Australia Bound Migration

06/08/2019

The second Temporary Graduate Visa for Students in Regional Australia.
Further to the introduction of the new regional visas there is also an additional incentive to study in regional Australia. Temporary Graduate visa holders may be eligible to apply for one more year if they graduate from a regional campus and then spend at least two years residing in the regional area so this all together would allow them three years visa with full work rights. The definition of regional Australia for this purpose will be the same as the definition for skilled migration – all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Please contact us with any queries to [email protected]

Schedule your appointment online Australia Bound Migration

05/08/2019

Exceptional Migration Opportunities in the Goldfields of Western Australia
The recently implemented Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) covering the area around Kalgoorlie-Boulder offers unique opportunities for people with lower level skills occupations, English less than competent and even for the applicants over 45 years of age. There are 72 occupations on the DAMA list including some that are not on any other migration list like for example: Child Care Worker, Bar Attendant Supervisor, Driller Assistant and Truck Driver just to mention a few.
One must be aware though that visas under DAMA must be employer sponsored. To initial visa, in most cases, would be TSS (temporary working visa) but for nearly all the listed occupations there is pathway to permanent visa. The workforce shortages in the Goldfields are severe so anybody who is able to apply for jobs there in person might succeed. For people who are on the working holiday visas and are looking for a pathway to PR it might be a good idea to visit Kalgoorlie. There are some colleges there so enrolling to one of them and getting a student visa might be another way to find a sponsoring employer.
Please contact us with any queries at [email protected]

03/08/2019

New Zealand Citizens in Australia
If you are a New Zealand citizen and entered Australia on a New Zealand passport you will generally have been issued a Subclass 444 or “Special Category Visa (SCV)”. You may not be aware that you hold a Special Category Visa because these visas are granted automatically on entry into Australia. There will be no stamp in your passport indicating that you were issued with the visa.
If you have been granted a SCV you can work and live in Australia indefinitely however it is not a permanent visa. You can apply for a permanent visa and if successful, you will become a permanent resident of Australia. There are several visa options and the choice would depend on your circumstances - a professional migration advice might be necessary.
For help with any visa issues, please contact the registered MARA agent Andrew Kurowski at [email protected] or +61419904559

21/07/2019

Additional Points for General Skilled, State and Regional Migration Applicants
Accompanying legislation for the new visas: subclass 494 and 491, will introduce several changes to skilled migration from 16 November 2019 including awarding additional points to certain applicants.
These amendments introduce a revised points system for subclass 491 visa as well as existing General Skilled Migration visas (that is, subclass 189 and 190 visas). Points are awarded for attributes that are linked with the applicant’s ability to make the greatest economic contribution, as the key purpose of the skilled migration program is to maximise the economic benefits of migration to Australia. The changes to the points test are to introduce:
• more points for having a skilled spouse or de facto partner (10 points);
• more points for applicants nominated by a State or Territory government or sponsored by a family member residing in regional Australia (15 points);
• more points for having certain STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) qualifications (10 points);
• points for applicants who do not have a spouse or de facto partner (10 points); and
• points for applicants with a spouse or de facto partner who has competent English (5 points).
Currently, Skilled Independent (189) and Skilled Regional (489) visas are sitting at a minimum 80-point score. This means that applicants who lodged their EOI which is below 80 points are unlikely to receive an invitation in the next round.
The revision of Australia’s Skilled Migration Points score has been revised as a result of Productivity Commission in its 2016 Report called Migrant Intake into Australia. The Productivity Commission recommended that the points system be amended so that secondary applicants with skills and other desirable employment-related characteristics contribute significantly to the points score of the primary applicant.
The Commission noted that around 50 per cent of Australia’s permanent skill intake are secondary applicants, many of whom have limited skills. Given the significant share of secondary applicants in the permanent skill stream immigration, the Productivity Commission stated that it is important to assess their contribution to the Australian economy and the community more generally as failing to give appropriate weight to the skill (and other) attributes of a spouse or de facto partner can shift the composition of immigration away from those that are most likely to benefit Australia .
New points system will take effect from 16 November 2019. This will coincide with repeal of subclass 187 (RSMS visa) and subclass 489 (Regional Provisional Visa) and introduction of Subclass 491 and 494 visas.