Alan Rigas Solicitors

05/12/2023

Join us this Thursday 7 December 2023 @ Leigh Memorial Church Hall Parramatta

15/01/2022

The Federal Court of Australia is now hearing the Djokovic Appeal

06/01/2022

The recent Novak Djokovic saga is a perfect example of the importance of ensuring your visa and travel exemption documents are in order.

A canceled visa and now Court Proceedings all from what appears to have stemmed from an invalid/incomplete travel exemption.

We continue to assist our clients with travel exemptions and visas to avoid such costly situations. Contact our office if you need assistance on 02 9635 5333.

World No.1 tennis player Novak Djokovic will stay in Melbourne until at least Monday after launching a last-minute bid in the Federal Circuit Court to stop the federal government from deporting him before the Australian Open begins.

16/12/2021

Extended support for New Zealand pathway to Australian Permanent Residence

From 13 November 2021, New Zealand citizens applying for the New Zealand stream of the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa will be able to claim an exemption from meeting the income threshold requirement for the income years 2019-20 and 2020-21.

To claim an exemption, New Zealand applicants will need to demonstrate that their taxable income was adversely affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis.

This change is in addition to a measure introduced earlier this year which assists New Zealand citizens to count time spent offshore due to COVID-19 travel restrictions as residence in Australia for the purpose of meeting the ‘usually resident’ requirement for the visa.

If you know someone who may benefit from the changes, feel free to have them contact our office on 02 9635 5333 to discuss how we can help you.

Alan Rigas Solicitors is a leading Sydney law firm specialising in visa and migration law, family la

15/12/2021

Recently, our Alan Rigas was invited to attend as Honorary guest, the People's Alliance Party Fundraiser for the party's upcoming election campaign.

At the event, Mr Rigas was made Honorary Chief.

09/12/2021

ATTENTION SKILLED REGIONAL VISA HOLDERS:

The Government has announced that it will extend visas for skilled regional (provisional visa) holders (subclass 489, 491 and 494) in recognition that they have been adversely affected by COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

Both current and expired skilled regional provisional visas will therefore be extended, providing them with additional time to meet regional work requirements for permanent residence.

Contact our office to see if you are affected by the announcements and how we can help you.

We are here to help. 02 9635 5333.

Alan Rigas Solicitors is a leading Sydney law firm specialising in visa and migration law, family la

07/12/2021

Attention current and former Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa holders whose visas expired on or after 1 February 2020.

The Australian government has announced that

From 1 December 2021:

1. The visa period for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) Graduate Work stream, will increase from 18 to 24 months.

From 1 July 2022:

1. All those impacted by the pandemic will be able to reapply for a new subclass 485 visa of the same duration as their original visa.

2. The visa period on the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) Post-Study Work stream will increase permanently from 2 to 3 years for Masters by coursework graduates, to be in line with the visa period granted to Masters by Research graduates.

3. Application requirements will be streamlined by removing the requirement for graduates to nominate an occupation from the skills occupation list.

If you or someone you know may benefit from the announcement, please feel free to contact our office on 02 9635 5333, speak to one of our migration lawyers or migration agents and see how we can assist you.

Alan Rigas Solicitors is a leading Sydney law firm specialising in visa and migration law, family la

01/12/2021

GREAT NEWS FOR SECTION 48 BARRED NON- CITIZENS ONSHORE!

Section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 bars a non-citizens in the migration zone from applying for a further visa if, since last entering Australia, they have had a visa refused and they no longer hold a substantive visa at the time of making the further visa application. If this occurs the application will be deemed an invalid application.

Since 13 November 2021, section 48 barred applicants can now lodge the following 3 applications whilst onshore, irrespective of them being barred:

1. Skilled—Nominated (Permanent) (Class SN) (Subclass 190);
2. Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Class PS) (Subclass 491);
3. Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (Class PE) (Subclass 494).

If you or someone you know has been refused a visa in Australia and are still onshore, contact our office to discuss your eligibility to apply for one of the above visas on 02 9635 5333. We are here to help in these trying times.

Alan Rigas Solicitors is a leading Sydney law firm specialising in visa and migration law, family la

24/11/2021

We take this opportunity to acknowledge all the work and efforts that Keresi Balewai Rabuatoka from Koori Radio 93.7FM and her organisation are doing for the Fijian Community, by packing food hampers and other essentials to be shipped to Fiji in support of homeless children and families.

If anyone would like to support the cause, you can reach out via the link in the BIO of the below video.

Everyone calls her Grace. But her real name is Keresi Rabuatoka. Her organisation does not have a formal name, just a bunch of able-bodied people she has mar...

06/10/2021

We urge everyone to be vigilant given the increasing occurrences of cybercrime and scams, particularly those targeting law firms.

Please ensure you take all necessary steps and make all reasonable enquiries (e.g. verifying particulars of any payment requests by telephone) before making any payment transfers.

Sanjay Joseph had just bought a property in Sydney’s North Kellyville when he received an email from what appeared to be his conveyancer asking him to transfer money to complete the purchase.

04/10/2021

Our accredited Immigration Specialist Alan Rigas recently spoke to https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiarapazzano/ at https://www.linkedin.com/company/special-broadcasting-service-sbs-australia/ about Australia's bridging visas.

This can be a really challenging area to navigate so our amazing team is always happy to guide people in their journey to achieve great visa outcomes.

In March 2021, the number of Bridging visa holders in Australia mounted to a historic high of over 350,000. But what are bridging visas, and what rights and conditions do they come with?

18/08/2021

Given the recent events in Afghanistan, the future of its people is now unclear. The Australian Government has announced that it will allocate at least 3,000 places in its humanitarian visa program to support the legitimate resettlement of Afghans affected by the recent events.

We are here to help.

Contact our office on 02 9635 5333 or by email on [email protected].