On 9 May 2023 Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2023-2024 budget, which has had some notable impacts to the Department of Home Affairs and the migration program in Australia. Migration Planning Levels For the 2023-2024 financial year (1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024) 190,000 permanent migration places have been allocated, which includes 137,100 skilled places and 52,500 family places. The family places have been distributed as follows: Partner Visa: 40,500 places Parent Visa: 8,500 places Child Visa: 3,000 places Other Family Visas: 500 places Increase in Fees and Charges Th ..read more

The Australian Government has announced today that from 1 July 2023 that New Zealand citizens who have been living in Australia for at least 4 years can apply directly for Australian citizenship. This means that New Zealand citizens just need to hold the Special Category Visa (subclass 444 visa that is automatically granted to New Zealand passport holder on arrival to Australia). It will no longer be a requirement for a New Zealand citizen to first become a permanent resident to apply for Australian citizenship. Any applicant for citizenship must meet the residence requirement which requires t ..read more

UPDATE: Due to the Omicron variant the changes for temporary visa holders and citizens from Japan and Korea originally announced to come into effect on the 1st of December 2021, have been delayed to the 15th of December 2021. The Australian government has announced that from the 15th of December 2021 the Australian border will open for fully vaccinated travellers who hold certain temporary visas, including prospective marriage visa holders, student visa holders, working holiday visa holders, New Zealand family relationship visa holders and more (see full list below). Travellers who hold an eli ..read more

It is always a good time to move to Australia! Of course, we would say that. In all honesty, though, the timing of your move can have cost implications. Today, we look at the few considerations you should keep in mind when planning your relocation. How timing affects relocation cost Removalists When the removalists have excess work, they will charge higher rates. Not to be unfair, some conditions impact this higher rate. One of which is the employment of additional staff to handle the workload.  Labour costs contribute significantly to the cost of removals.   As with most things ..read more

The Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenburg recently shared the Federal Budget with the Australian people ahead of the Federal Election which is to be held on 21 May 2022. The budget included several immigration announcements, including the migration planning levels for the 2022-2023 financial year. Overall, the migration program will be increased to 160,000 places, ahead of further expected increases in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 financial years, as Australia continues to recover from the COVID-19 Pandemic. The program will be made up of 70% skilled and employer sponsored visas, which is an inc ..read more

The Australian border will be reopening for fully vaccinated visa holders from 21 February 2022. This means that for the first time in almost two years, international visitors will be able to enter Australia without needing an exemption. Adult temporary visa holders who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 will still require a travel exemption to enter Australia, unless they have a medical exemption. Individual states and territories can still introduce their own restrictions, for example Victoria may require visitors to have received three doses of an approved vaccine. There is no indication ..read more

The subclass 189 New Zealand skilled visa allows New Zealand citizens who have been resident in Australia for at least 5 years (so long as residency began on or before 19 February 2016) to obtain permanent residancy in Australia. Partners and children can also be included as secondary applicants. Currently, the applicant must have had a taxable income of at least $53,900 per anum in the 4 financial years prior to application, however this will soon change. What is going to change? Currently the applicant must have met the income requirement of $53,900 per anum in each of the 4 financial years ..read more

The Department of Home Affair’s COVID-19 page has recently been updated with a number of changes that impact both inbound and outbound travel exemptions of the Australia border restictions. This blog should be read in conjunction with the following blogs: Australia Travel Ban Restrictions During COVID-19 - 2 November 2020 Australia COVID-19 Travel Exemption Updates - 19 August 2021 Outbound Travel Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on 1 October 2021 that fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents over the age of 12 will soon be eligible for international ..read more

On Tuesday the 11th of May the Australian Government announced the federal budget for the 2021-2022 financial year. How does the budget impact family immigration? Not a lot it seems. Australian Border Closure The Government expect the Australian border to remain closed for at least another 12 months. It’s possible that Australia could open travel bubbles with countries such as Singapore and the Pacific Islands as they have with New Zealand, however no specific announcements have been made. Migration Program Numbers The migration program planning level for 2021-2022 will remain at 160,000 overa ..read more

The Department of Home Affair’s COVID-19 page was recently updated with some proposed changes that impact both inbound and outbound travellers to/from Australia. This blog should be read in conjunction with this blog: Australia Travel Ban Restrictions During COVID-19 - 2 November 2020 Outbound Travel Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on 1 October 2021 that fully vaccinated Australia citizens and permanent residents over the age of 12 will soon be eligible for international travel without needing an exemption. Children under 12 and persons who cannot be vaccinated for medical r ..read more