Australia has one of the best tools available online when it comes to immigration. The process of finding a job you can apply for internationally is always hard; you never know whether the companies will be interested in sponsoring your immigration or not. It was problematic for the companies as well because it was hard to judge how many people were interested in immigrating to Australia to fulfil a position.

The Australian government launched SkillSelect to make the process easier and we would highly encourage people to use the tool. The tool can be thought of as the meeting place for skilled workers willing to move 

Registering with SkillSelect

The first thing you need to do is go to SkillSelect and register yourself. Please note that registering on SkillSelect itself is not a part of the visa process; you are not applying for a visa, simply showing that you are willing to move to Australia. You will still need to work with a Registered Migration Agent if you want to start the immigration process. When you come to SkillSelect you will be asked to provide some data about yourself. You will need to submit an EoI (expression of interest).

Between 60,000 – 70,000 of the 140,000 New Zealanders holding the Special Category Visa will find it easier to gain Australian citizenship from 1 July 2017, the Australian Prime Minister announced on Friday.

Early details indicate that applicants will have to provide evidence that they have lived and worked in Australia for at least five years or more and during that time earned income in excess of the temporary skills migration income threshold, which now is about $54,000 a year.

Prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, announced the “new pathways to citizenship” after hosting a meeting with his counterpart, John Key, in Sydney on Friday.

Speaking at a media conference, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the deal was in response to advocacy “for the plight of New Zealanders living in Australia who have been in a particular category that hasn’t allowed them to become Australian citizens”.

Joanne Cox, of New Zealand advocacy group Oz Kiwi, said the group was "cautious" about the announcement until further detail was available but said it looked like a "tool to screen out the poor," because many New Zealanders would fail to meet requirements.

"It will be a pathway for a number of people who have arrived since 2001 to access to permanent residency and citizenship, so that’s a win," she said. "But for every win there’s a loss."

"[For] those people who will not have earned sufficient income over the last five years, it’s going to be similar to a skilled visa by the sounds of things and many New Zealanders aren’t eligible for a skilled visa because they don’t work in the right fields."

Australia is one of the best countries for immigrants because of how it treats immigration. Many other countries treat immigration as a necessary evil and are not welcoming to people. Australia on the other hand, at every level, is always open for hardworking people. If you have good grades and qualifications then the chances of your immigration happening successfully are very high. All this happens because Australia understands something many other countries cannot; by choosing the right type of immigration, it can decrease the burden of everyone in the society. Continuing on the path to attract the world’s best and brightest, the Australian government has announced that it will be launching a whole new class of visa in November 2016.

The Difference between Business Visas and the Proposed Entrepreneur Visa

Business visas have been the norm for a long time, and at first glance, it might seem like an entrepreneur visa is redundant but there is one big distinction between the two.  Basically, in order to qualify for a business visa, you need to have the resources already for doing business in Australia. This means that you need to be an established businessman, you should have the funds that will be required to set up a business in Australia, and you must have a business plan.

This qualifies a person as an investor and makes the immigration process much easier. However, in a world where angel investors are increasingly becoming the norm, this model no longer works. With so many companies innovating through outside funding, it is very limiting to only allow entrepreneurs who have the money themselves into the country.

Is there really any point in checking the case law before answering a client’s question? 

Well, to borrow the famous expression from former US vice-presidential candidate and reality TV star Sarah Palin: “You betcha!” 

Yep, I know that my fellow RMAs out there in the reading audience would heartily agree with this: sometimes, hard though it may be to believe (just kidding!) the meaning and likely application of the Migration Act and the Regulations isn’t clear! 

Desperate to avoid extradition to Malaysia where he will face the death penalty, the man convicted of murder amidst allegations that he was ordered to kill a Mongolian socialite at the centre of a high-level corruption scandal allegedly involving the Prime Minister of Malaysia, has threatened to somehow implicate the RMA who has been providing him migration advice that could save his life.

Sirul Azhar Umar, a former body guard of the prime minister, said he was acting under orders when in 2006 he twice shot 28-year-old translator Altantuya Shaariibuu in the head as she begged for the life of her unborn child and then wrapped her body with military explosives and blew her up.

Sirul fled to Australia last year just before the Malaysian Federal Court sentenced him to death by hanging. The efforts by the Malaysian authorities to extradite him were hampered by existing Australian legislation prohibiting the extradition of individuals to countries with the death penalty.

RMA Robert Chelliah has been assisting Sirul who is currently being held at Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre. It has been reported that Mr Chelliah advised Sirul the only way to secure his residency in Australia was to secure a protection visa by revealing to immigration whose orders he was following, and to convince them it was an error of judgment committed due to external conditions beyond his control.