Bridging Visa R Bridging Visa R and NZYQ affected cohort The Migration Amendment (Bridging Visas) Regulations 2024 amend the Migration Regulations 1994 to clarify the circumstances in which the Minister may grant a Bridging R (Class WR) visa (BVR) to the cohort affected by the High Court judgment in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2023] HCA 37. The instrument amends regulation 2.04 to clarify that, while the circumstances in which a visa may be granted are generally set out in Schedule 2 to the Regulations, this is subject to ..read more

Genuine Student (GS) Genuine Student (GS) Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) replaced with Genuine Student (GS) for student visas (sc 500) Related: Genuine Temporary Entrant letter sample How to choose the best course to study in Australia? As part of your application for a student visa (subclass 500), previously student visa applicants had to provide a personal statement, in English, that addresses the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement. This statement must be submitted with your visa application and should explain that: You are genuinely coming to Australia to study and no ..read more

Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) The Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) is a new scheme, established under the Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA) between India and Australia. MATES gives Indian university graduates and early career professionals the opportunity to live and work in Australia for up to two years, and to gain employment and valuable experience in their areas of expertise.  The scheme will be 3000 p ..read more

Upcoming Immigration Changes 2024 Upcoming Immigration Changes 2024 The Australian government released its much-anticipated Migration Strategy, which outlines a new vision for Australia’s migration system and a what to expect in 2024. The key Australian immigration changes in 2024 are: Summary Details Creation of a new Skills in Demand visa with 3 targeted pathways to encourage migration worker mobility in the labour market. The visa streams will include: 1.      Specialist Skills pathway – for highly-skilled migrants that are beneficial to A ..read more

Migration Strategy Australia Migration Strategy – Australia 2024 The long awaited Migration Strategy was released today. An overview of the new strategy, which is designed to make our skilled migration system more focused on skills required to build productivity and use permanent migration to build and innovative and effective workforce for Australia’s future can be seen below. The strategy based on 8 key actions: Targeting temporary skilled migration to address skills needs and promote worker mobility Reshaping permanent skilled migration to drive long-term prosperity Strengtheni ..read more

COVID-19 concession period ending COVID-19 concession period ending The COVID-19 concession period is scheduled to end on November 25, 2023. Since the beginning of 2020, the global pandemic led to restrictions on international travel, as well as challenging business and employment situations. In response, the previous government introduced temporary measures during an initial concession period. These measures aimed to offer concessions to applicants of specific visa subclasses who were impacted by travel restrictions, making it challenging for them to fulfill visa requirements, inc ..read more

Expanding Employer Sponsored Pathways to Permanent Residence (PR) Expanding Employer Sponsored Pathways to Permanent Residence (PR) The government is to implementing changes to Australia’s migration system to ensure temporary skilled workers have a pathway to PR. To support this, the Department of Home Affairs is currently working on changes to the: Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) (TSS) visa Temporary Residence Transition stream (TRT) of the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) (ENS) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) (RSMS) visa These changes are ..read more

482 TSS and 186 ENS visa changes 2023 482 TSS and 186 ENS visa changes 2023 TSS 482 Short-Term to PR 186 visa ( Implementation of employer-sponsored permanent residency reforms expected from 25 November 2023) The Department of Home Affairs has set 25 November 2023 for implementing changes to the employer-sponsored permanent residency program. Once the ENS reforms have been implemented, short-term Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 visa holders will gain access to permanent residency under the 186 Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the ENS visa program. All Temporary Skil ..read more

s57 Natural Justice Letter S57 Natural Justice Letter Have you received a Natural Justice letter from the Department of Home Affairs? Section 57 of the Migration Act 1958 (referred to as ‘the Act’) stipulates that the Department of Home Affairs must give you the opportunity to comment and provide information in instances where your visa application is being considered for refusal. What to do if you’ve received a S57 Natural Justice Letter? Upon receiving an s57 Natural Justice letter, it is crucial to carefully examine its contents to comprehend why the Department is contemplating ..read more

Are part-time positions acceptable for the 482 TSS visa? Are part-time positions acceptable for the 482 TSS visa? For the purposes of the TSS 482 visa, the Department of Home Affairs requires for the position to be full time. However the full time requirement may be satisfied in some circumstances even if the position is part time. This provision is intended to facilitate part-time work arrangements for highly skilled overseas workers in niche occupations that would be of benefit to Australia. Part-time work arrangements can be approved where reasonable and consistent with the Aust ..read more