Archive for category Australian Visa Requirement
Simplified Visitor Visas for Australia
Posted by admin in Australia - News, Australian Visa Requirement, Tourist Visas, Visitor Visas on March 13th, 2013
A new Visitor Visa structure will be introduced later this month as part of the Australian Department’s aim to reduce the number of currently available types of visas.
From the 23rd of March this year the existing 10 types of Australian Visitor Visas will be reduced to 5 types of Visitor Visas, as outlined here: New Visitor Visa Subclasses
For more information please visit the DIAC website.
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Sort Out My Visa is a registered and licensed Australian and NZ visa specialist, providing visa and migration services to individuals and families wanting to travel to, conduct business, work or live in Australia or New Zealand. Visit Sort Out My Visa for more information.
Australian DIAC Migration Law Changes – in force from 1 January 2010
Posted by admin in Australia, Australian Visa Requirement, DIAC on December 18th, 2009
This is a summary of some very important changes that will effect all future offshore visa applicants and some lodged onshore visa applicants from 1 January 2010:
Onshore Applicants in the following subclasses will be required to provide a suitable skilled assessment at the time of application, not just proof that a skilled assessment has been applied for:
- Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 885)
- Skilled Sponsored Visa (subclass 886)
- Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa (subclass 487)
Further, some applicants will have to provide a skills assessment which has been completed on or after 1 January 2010 for specified gazetted occupations. (We do not know, as this stage, which occupations will appear on this list.)
Offshore Applicants in the following subclasses will be required to comply with new work experience requirements:
- Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 175)
- Skilled Sponsored Visa (subclass 176)
- Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa (subclass 475)
In particular, visa applicants with a listed occupation will be required to show recent work experience in their occupation NOT just any skilled occupation. Again, the list of occupations affected has not yet been made available.
Please contact us via email, marking the subject matter as URGENT, if you believe that as a result of the above changes your application must be lodged prior to 1 January 2010. Although we are closed over the holiday period, in light of these changes we will be able to deal with urgent enquiries.
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Sort Out My Visa is a Australian and NZ visa specialist, providing visa and migration services to individuals and families wanting to travel to, conduct business, work or live in Australia or New Zealand. Visit Sort Out My Visa for more information.
Australian 457 Visa Applications – Update
Posted by admin in Australia, Australian Visa Requirement, Skills Assessments on July 2nd, 2009
The Department of Immigration (DIAC) and the Australian Government have introduced more changes to the 457 Employer Sponsored Visa regime. Here is a summary of some of the new requirements, which were introduced on 1 July 2009:
1. Previously it was not necessary for a visa applicant to submit a skills assessment with his or her visa application. However the DIAC has announced that skills assessments will now be required in some cases.
2. The threshold income levels (base salary levels) have been increasedand are now set at:
- $45,220 for non IT occupations.
- $40,705 for Regional Certified occupations and $55,725 for IT Occupations.
- $61,920 for Information and Communications Technology Occupations.
Australian Visas – Important 1 July Legislative Changes
Posted by admin in Australia, Australian Migration Legislation, Australian Skilled Visas, Australian Visa Requirement, Australian Working Holiday Visas on June 27th, 2009
On 1 July the Australian Department of Immigration will be introducing the following legislative changes to the way visa application are dealt with and to the criteria that apply to visa applications:
- There will be an increase in most visa and citizenship application fees (see our previous post for more details) of 4.4% to 20%. There will also be the inevitable form changes that usually accompany the DIAC’s legislative changes.
- Contributory Parent visa applicant couples will both have to apply for their contributory parent visas together and at the outset, rather than trying to save money by applying individually and then via the partner/spouse visa route.
- A change in sponsor for remaining relative and parent visa applicants will now be permitted anytime up until the time of decision on a visa application. Provided of course that the new sponsor can meet all sponsorship requirements.
- All parent visa applicants will have to satisfy Balance of Family Test criteria at the time of making their visa application, rather then at the time of decision.
- Retirement visa (subclass 410) holders will no longer be restricted to just 20 hours of work per week.
- Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa applicants (tertiary educated 18 to 30 year olds from Chile, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and the USA) will now have 12 months to enter Australia from the dates of their visa grants.
- All applicants for 175, 176 and 475 skilled visas with a nominated trade occupation who are not UK, USA, Canada or NZ passport holders or otherwise meet the English Language requirements, will have to provide evidence of an IELTS score of 6.0 in each of the four parts of the IELTS test.
- The Concessional Competent English level for sponsored 475 visa applicants has been raised from an average of IELTS 5.5 to an average of IELTS 6.0.
For full details of the above 1 July 2009 changes, and all other legislative changes to Australian migration law, please follow this link.
Australian Visa Application Fee to Increase on 1 July
Posted by admin in Australia, Australian Skilled Visas, Australian Visa Requirement, Australian Working Holiday Visas on June 10th, 2009
The Australian Department of Immigration (DIAC) has announced that there will be fee increase for many Australian visas on 1 July 2009. In line with budget predictions and inflation some visa fee application charges may increase by as much as 20%. Others (for example the second visa application charges (VAC) for contributory visas) should not be increasing as they were raised already last year.
What does this mean for any potential applicants? The lesson, as always, is the same: the sooner you are able to apply for your visa, the better. Once your visa application is submitted it cannot normally be affected by any legislative changes after the time of lodgment of the visa application. But until your application is submitted you are at the mercy of the DIAC and the Australian Government.
We will publish more information as soon as we are aware of the level of fee increases.
However if you would like more information about the fees in the meantime, please feel free to contact us. Sort Out My Visa is a migration and visa specialist, offering visa services to individuals or business requiring assistance with Australian and New Zealand visas.
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