What a year it’s been! With so much change going on it can be hard to keep up.
So we’ve decided to create a little summary of changes that may affect you.
1. If you’re on-shore you’re in-luck!
With Australia’s borders still closed and the recent reduction in incoming flights, Australia is prioritising those who are currently on-shore when processing visa applications.
2. Go Regional for priority processing
The Government is, as always, still encouraging the movement of people from cities to regional areas. So if you’re thinking about Skilled migration, you’re going to find it easier to land yourself in a regional area. And by regional, we don’t mean some field of corn in the middle of nowhere, regional can include cities like Adelaide, Perth and Canberra.
So if you’re willing to give regional living a go, check out the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) and see if your occupation made the list!
3. Both you and your partner need to Brush up on your English Skills If you are looking to get your permanent visa via a partner visa with a permanent resident, you will now both need to have a functional level of English & demonstrate that you have made reasonable efforts to learn English. This is measure was put in place with the aim to improve employability and integration into the Australian community. To help with this, access limits for Free English language classes through the Adult Migration English Program have been removed. This means that you have access to as many hours as you need in order to improve your English fluency.
4. Hospo & Tourism workers rejoice!
To help recover COVID losses from these industries, international students can work unrestricted hours in these industries. Check online to see if your line of work comes under this industry.
5. A (still) small price to pay for citizenship
As of July 1st, the standard citizenship by conferral application fee has raised from $285 to $490. As far as costs go in your journey to citizenship, it’s a drop in the ocean. But worth a note all the same. For those of you applying for citizenship, this comes in addition to last year’s update to the Australian citizenship test which now has 20 additional questions covering democracy, equality and mutual respect.
6. Shell out double if you want to overturn a decision Fees for appealing to the Administrative Tribunal’s migration decisions have nearly doubled from $1764 to $3000. However, proving this fee will cause you severe financial hardship will earn you a discount, and you will only need to pay $1500.
7. Find out if you’re a priority
The Government has updated it’s list of occupations that is has prioritised in order to fill Australia’s skill gaps. Check if you’re occupation is on this list, and you might be able to get your application fast-tracked.
22 New occupations have been added, bringing the total list up to 41. To see if your job made the cut, click here
8. How are the permanent migration visas allocated?
In 2021-22, there’s 160,000 spots under Australia’s permanent migration stream. Split into 4 categories:
- Skill (79,6000 places) e.g. skill shortage visas including regional,
- Family (77,300 places) e.g. partner visas,
- Special Eligibility (100 places) e.g. permanent residents returning to Australia after a period overseas,
- Child (3,000 places). This stream is demand-driven and not subject to a limit. There have also been changes to visa requirements so make sure you pay particular attention to any visa you may be applying for.
And that's a wrap for now! As always, reach out to us if you have any questions about these changes and how they might affect you!