Visadvice Blog
From Migration Alliance 10 March 2012
DIAC simplifies permanent residency visa pathway
- Created on Friday, 09 March 2012 03:38
- Written by Editorial staff
After a lengthy review, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has announced that it will be revising the structure the permanent employer-sponsored visa program.
Announced by the minister for immigration and citizenship Chris Bowen on March 9, the changes will come into effect on July 1 2012.
This date has been chosen to coincide with the introduction of the new invitation-based SkillSelect migration scheme, which will require applicants to first submit an expression of interest to the DIAC.
Made up of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) and the Labour Agreements initiative, the changes to the employer-sponsored program are designed to bring it closer in line the Australia's economic needs.
This will be achieved by making controls more responsive to labour market pressures by assigning the limited placements available to those individuals who "will make the
greatest contribution to Australia".
In particular, the DIAC said that the new measures will be of great benefit to regional communities, where "complex labour market conditions and limited labour
supply" can combine to make the smooth running of any enterprise a difficult prospect.
In order to achieve a more streamlined visa submission and review process, the DIAC will begin by reducing the number of relevant subclasses from six to two.
These will be the Employer Nomination (Class EN) Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) and the Regional Employer Nomination (Class RN) Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187).
Inside these new subclasses will be three streams - Temporary Residence Transition, Direct Entry and Agreement - that reflect the nature of the applicant's situation.
Aiming to deliver a wider scope of applicants, the DIAC will also lift the maximum age qualifier to "less than 50 years".
On top of this, Temporary Business (Long Stay) subclass 457 visa holders will have access to a new, simplified pathway to permanent residency.
Where the current system has the capacity to make exceptions for applications that do not meet certain requirements, the new program will put in place more objective exemption criteria.
Submissions that contain exceptional outliers in age, skills or English language abilities will be able to make use of exemptions available in both the Temporary Residence and Direct Entry streams and will be calculated in relation to the applicant's occupation, wage and the length of they have been employed by their potential sponsor.
No changes will be made to the systems used to negotiate exceptions sought under the labour agreement stream - these must be negotiated in accordance with current guidelines.
from Migration Alliance posts ...
Visa shortage concerns community groups
- Created on Sunday, 05 February 2012 22:20
- Written by Editorial staff
Recent cuts to the number of special humanitarian visas have seen community groups that support new arrivals in Australia express concern over the potential impact it could have on processing times.
While migration agents will be aware that the program has been reduced to 750 places for the rest of 2012, the Salvation Army has reportedly received information that - despite a growing queue of 20,500 in line for the program - only ten more places remain before July.
It could be due to the fact that the limited places have been reassigned by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to people who have been processed after arriving by boat.
This is despite the 3,000 humanitarian visas issued in 2011 and the almost 9,000 delivered in 2003 - as the government says the shift has been necessary.
In response, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) has issued a call to have the programs that assess refugees arriving by boat and the special humanitarian visas issued to those who already have family living in Australia to be made entirely separate.
The RCOA's submission to the government on intake protocols for 2012-13 included a substantial amount of research that showed how the continued "numerical link" between the two categories was causing "tensions and frustrations" within the community.
It asserted: "Although concerns have been raised regarding this link in previous years, this year
negative sentiments towards people arriving onshore were more evident than in the past,
stemming from a perception (fuelled by public discourse and political debates) that onshore
Protection Visa holders are 'illegal' and 'taking places from' people who are trying to sponsor
family and community members under the SHP."
These concerns have been noted in the past by the DIAC itself which said in a report issued in late 2011 that 2012 was likely to see "the smallest program in 30 years".
The DIAC explained: "The SHP (Special Humanitarian Program) is facing the greatest pressure since its inception in 1981.
"The SHP continues to be under pressure from the number of Protection visas being granted onshore, particularly to IMAs (Irregular Maritime Arrivals), but also to people who arrive by air and seek protection."
While the department said the concerns were understandable, it explained that the numerical linkage between the two systems was that it "enables planning and budgeting for government-funded settlement services to properly meet the needs of humanitarian entrants".
1300 26 78 48
mob. 0413 502 536
ceo@visadvice.com.au
PO Box 5011
Algester 4115
Australia
Kentlen Executive Centre
1048 Beaudesert Rd
Coopers Plains
Brisbane QLD 4108
Australia
