10 January 2017

Information received today from Immigration confirms that they are currently allocating ENS/RSMS cases lodged between February and June 2016.

23 December 2016

Just received a notice from the Department of Immigration - a decision NOT to cancel a 187 RSMS visa as the reasons not to cancel outweighed the grounds for cancellation. What a great outcome and Christmas present for my client. We've been waiting for this for about 6 weeks.

17 November 2016

From 18 November 2016, sponsors of Partner or Prospective Marriage visas will need to provide Australian and foreign police checks.  Failure to do so within the required time may result in the visa being refused.  This requirement does not affect applicants and sponsors whose applications were lodged prior to 18 November 2016.

20 October 2016

Most permanent residents seeking to obtain Australian citizenship must meet specific residence requirements.  A useful aid in establishing that the residence requirements are met prior to submitting a citizenship application can be seen by following this link: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/Retu/residence-calculator

9 Sept 2016

From September 10 2016, applications for Resident Return Visas (RRV) must be made either online through an Immi Account, or by using a paper form 1085. Other oral and written methods can no longer be used to make an application.

9 Sept 2016

Australian Immigration is introducing a new Entrepreneur visa on the 10th of September. Briefly:

• Applicants must be undertaking, or proposing to undertake, an entrepreneurial venture in Australia.
• The entrepreneurial venture must not be related to residential real estate or labour hire or involve purchasing an existing business or franchise.
• Applicants must also be under 55 years of age, have a competent level of English, and have at least 30% interest in their entrepreneurial venture.
• There must be one or more funding agreements in place for at least $200,000 between the entrepreneur or venture and a third party funding body or bodies.
• Sources of third party funding are limited to state and territory governments, Commonwealth agencies, Publicly Funded Research Organisations, and investors registered as a Venture Capital Limited Partnerships (VCLP) or Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships (ESVCLP). Agreements outlining funds from a combination of these sources are also acceptable.
• Applicants must have a business plan outlining their plans for their venture in Australia.
• An Entrepreneur visa holder can progress to permanent residency after four years if they can meet a measure of success, which includes factors such as business turnover, employment of Australians and ability to obtain significant financial backing.
• Applicants must be undertaking, or proposing to undertake, an entrepreneurial venture in Australia.

7 Sept 2016

Australian immigration is introducing a new Entrepreneur visa which will be launched on the 10th of September 2016.

25 August 2016

It seems that there is a movement to try and have engineering occupations removed from the SOL list. Of course it may not happen, but it makes for interesting reading. More on the issue can be read here.

17 August 2016

Department of Immigration correspondence show that 457 visas are taking 50 WORKING days to process.

17 August 2016

Check out our Facebook page.

26 July 2016

Release of State Migration Plans apparently suspended until after elections.