You may recall that when the legislative instrument was signed off by Senator Cash with the effect of cease and capping 16000 group 4 and 5 candidates; there was a reference to internal and external stakeholder consultations buried away in the explanatory statement.

I issued an FOI request seeking the following:

Details of "internal stakeholder consultation and "external" stakeholder consultation referred to in paragraph 6 of the"explanatory statement" underpinning Legislative Instrument IMMI 15/112.

The case that is the subject of this article involves a “Business Skilled” (Residence) visa – Subclass 892. 

Before I present my analysis of this case – Snyman & Anor v Minister for Immigraiton & Anor (2015) FCCA 2791 (19 October 2015) – I would like to invite readers to discuss their experiences with this kind of visa in the “comments” section.  What has been your experience in dealing with this kind of visa?

What kinds of issues have been raised by the Department during the processing of the application? Have any of your applications for this visa been refused?  If so, on what grounds?  Have you been able to overcome a refusal through an application for merits review to the AAT, or through judicial review proceedings? 

Migration Alliance is in receipt of the following information from the AAT:

Annual Report 2014-15

I am pleased to announce that the MRT - RRT Annual Report 2014-15 was presented to Parliament out-of-sitting on 26 October 2015. The annual report can be accessed from the ‘Resources’ tab on MRD website.

Migration Alliance, Australia China Business Council (ACBC),  and Expat Advisors Community networks are delighted to come together and invite those doing business with China to enjoy an Australian tradition – the race that stops the nation!

Sip champagne while chatting to industry colleagues, making new business connections and soaking up the first Tuesday of November  atmosphere at  The Rook rooftop bar in the Sydney CBD.

Australia’s ‘deportation laws’ laws target non-citizens with a 'substantial criminal record'. The ABC has discovered that the strict law has been applied to a father of five including a newborn, for driving without a license.

A Lebanese-born Sydney man with five children has spent most part of last year in detention awaiting deportation for driving without a licence according to an ABC report.

Fouad Arja moved to Sydney in 2010, married an Australian woman, and was given permanent residency last year. His wife Laila Ismail told the ABC that on three occasions, he made a stupid decision and drove without holding an Australian licence. He was caught, convicted and given a 12 month suspended sentence.

This was effectively enough to trigger deportation proceedings against him regardless of his family circumstances. After serving four months of the 12-month suspended sentence, Mr Arja wasn't able to return to his wife and children - instead he was taken into immigration detention, reports the ABC.

His Lawyer, Willem Oostdyck told the ABC that the Government should not be applying the law so broadly and should be dealing with such matters on a case-by-case basis particularly considering the impact on the family.

“The impact on the family is quite severe; the Government is breaching the Conventional Rights of the Child. The convention very clearly states, Article three states, that you know, the child has a right to a parent or parents, a father and a mother. And by you know implementing this very heavy-handed Section 501, the convention is breached and the children are going to be impacted and the father is going to be impacted” said Mr Oostdyck.

Mr Oostdyck says Fouad Arja's family only has one avenue for appeal, and that's to take the case to the High Court.