The latest news on Australian immigration, including changes to regulations, government policy announcements, and analysis of media releases affecting current and future applications.
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A number of recent articles reported on visa cancellations based on failing the character test. What wasn’t reported was that the number was lower than previous years. This has not stopped the Minister for Home Affairs wanting to strengthen the character test further despite the Government of New Zealand not approving.
Read MoreAnnouncements made this week will see the renewal of the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) in the Northern Territory and a DAMA in south west Victoria, with more being considered. However, the bigger reveal is that these two DAMAs will come with it a pathway to a permanent visa, which is a significant development as semi-skilled workers have not been a feature of Australia’s skilled migration program for many years.
Read MoreNew regulations will come into force on 13 December 2018 that will see the Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs publish a list of sanctioned business sponsors, what obligation they breached, and the sanction they received.
The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs will be able to request from visa applicants, sponsors, and nominators, tax file numbers of visa holders and former visa holders for many temporary and permanent skilled visas. The ramifications of this may see more visas refused and cancelled.
Lastly, amendments have been made to give more certainty to sponsored or nominated workers whose visa applications are refused to seek review at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Read MoreA bill that was passed last week has created the framework for family visa sponsors, which include Australian citizens and permanent residents, to apply to be approved sponsors before a corresponding visa application can be made. This could create problems for onshore visa applicants, especially those wishing to lodge a partner visa, if processing times for these sponsor applications are lengthy. This legislation is also a precursor to the introduction of the proposed temporary parent visa.
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