Immigration Spotlight: Queensland and Victoria Unveil Details of the 2023-2024 State Nomination Programs In recent times, the dynamics of state and territory nomination programs in Australia have seen several shifts. Both Queensland and Victoria, prominent states in the nation, have unveiled their nomination plans for 2023-2024.  These changes not only reflect the evolving immigration landscape but also signify the broader implications for potential nominees.  Here we delve into the recent announcements, criteria adjustments, and operational shifts within these programs and provide i ..read more

What’s the Big News on the COVID-19 Pandemic Event Visa? The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Andrew Giles, announced that the COVID-19 Pandemic Event stream of the Subclass 408 visa will no longer accept new applications starting from 2 September 2023. Why was this decision made? Minister Giles highlighted that the Pandemic Event visa played a crucial role during the pandemic. This announcement is no surprise and has been anticipated since the re-opening of Australia’s borders. The government encourages these visa holders to look into other visa option ..read more

The much-anticipated allocation of state and territory sponsored visa numbers was announced Friday, and it came as a shock to many that the numbers each state and territory were able to invite under the Subclass 491 and Subclass 190 visa programs this financial year were much smaller than anticipated. Why were the allocations smaller this year? There are a number of reasons for the smaller allocations this year, but regardless, the announcement that the programs will be far more competitive than in recent years leaves many applicants who were waiting on the programs to re-open questioning what ..read more

What is the Global Talent Independent Visa (GTV) – (858 Visa) and how has its expansion into the target sectors changed? The Global Talent Visa is a streamlined visa pathway open to highly skilled professionals to work and gain permanent residency in Australia. Changes to the target sectors of the Australian government’s permanent migration scheme for highly-skilled applicants have expanded the original “future-focused” fields to a total of ten, opening the program to applicants from industries such as education, tourism and circular economy. What do these changes mean for Employers and Skille ..read more

Updated pathways to Permanent Residency for employer sponsored visa holders on the short-term skilled occupation list In exciting news for employer sponsored visa holders who have occupations that sit on the short-term skilled occupation list (STSOL) may now have access to a permanent visa where they may not have done so before. The Department of Home Affairs have finally released long-awaited changes that provide a pathway to permanent residency for many visa holders who may have been previously ineligible due to their occupation. What were the previous permanent residency eligibility require ..read more

The Prime Minister has announced that the Federal Government would be looking to expand the definition of ‘immediate family’ to include the parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents. This is great news for those with family living overseas, as prior to this announcement parents were not included in the travel exemption. When does the new travel exemption for parents take effect? From the 1st of November 2021, parents of adult Australian citizens, permanent residents or New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia will now be considered an immediate family member and will qua ..read more

Following the closure of the Australian Embassy in Afghanistan, the Federal Government is providing visa options to Afghan nationals, including those displaced from their home country through Australia’s long-standing humanitarian and migration programs. In this regard, the Department of Home Affairs continues to receive a large volume of enquiries from visa applicants, sponsors and the public. How many visa places will be available for Afghan Nationals? On 18 August 2021, the Australian Government announced that an initial 3,000 humanitarian places will be made available to Afghan nationals w ..read more

On 14 September 2021, the Federal Government announced changes to streamline the pathway to citizenship for talented prospective Australians. The changes provide increased flexibility to recognise the difficulties faced by distinguished applicants whose unique work and travel demands preclude them from meeting the eligibility requirements for Australian citizenship. What were the arrangements prior to these changes? Prior to these changes the special residence requirements were only extended to a limited cohort of people working in particular relevant occupations. Those whose occupations requ ..read more

What is the new change in law for travel exemptions? A new law recently came into effect on 11 August 2021 that removed the automatic Overseas Travel Ban Exemption for Australian citizens and permanent residents that live overseas. The health minister, Greg Hunt, amended the legislative instrument to tighten the travel rules on Australian citizens or permanent residents entering and exiting the country. Prior to this change, if an Australian citizen was ordinarily resident in another country, they would be automatically allowed to leave to return to their overseas home without an exemption. Wh ..read more

What are the new and updated immigration pathways for overseas workers? This article will be updated with the latest PMSOL changes as they happen. So bookmark this page to get all the latest information. Last updated 7th July 2021 Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia has implemented some of the harshest travel restrictions in the world, which has affected the ability of Australian businesses to source skilled overseas workers. But the good news for Australian businesses and people seeking to work in Australia is that the Department of Home Affairs (the Australian Immigration ..read more