After threatening overseas students with a potential visa cancellation for switching courses DIBP has gone into damage control and is now reassuring students that this will not happen.

The Australian reports that DIBP has backed down, following protests from students and non-SVP providers, that DIBP’s crackdown was unexpected, unfair and causing much anxiety.

“In an email to the Education Visa Consultative Committee, the department says it “will not take any further action against students” who transferred from an SVP degree course to a non-SVP degree course before the January 14 “education campaign” and who meet all other visa conditions,” says the report.

Teaching foreign students is Australia’s fourth-biggest export earner, generating $15 billion a year in income and employing about 100,000 Australians. It is serious business. Poor media coverage and concerns over uncertainties with student visas had a devastating effect on the industry in recent years which is only just now starting to recover.

RMAs may have recently received an offer from PD Training offering a ‘Finders Fee” for referring clients who purchase some of their courses. Some RMAs have written to us concerned about the tax implications of the offer. Migration Alliance does not provide tax advice and therefore we suggest that RMAs consult their accountants in respect of any tax concerns. We have however put RMAs concerns to PD Training and set out their response below. We would like to hear what you think of this offer after you have spoken to your tax consultant.

The PD Training offers sets out as follows, quoting the wording of the offer:

“New Finders Fee Structure*

• 35% Finders Fee for agents when the client purchases eLearning including many Trade based courses - 100's of courses for all industries available*
• 10% Finders Fee for agents when the client purchases Instructor-led training*

How does it work?

With tens of thousands of Chinese coming to Australia for business and tourism, the Trade minister has announced that Australia will introduce a three-year multiple entry visa for Chinese business travelers. Details of the visa are to be released shortly by DIBP.

Broad details of the visa were announced by Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Rob, recently:

"Chinese business visitors will now be eligible to apply for a three year multiple entry visa, increasing the prospect of repeat visits to Australia, which would be warmly welcomed by our tourism sector...

"These changes will also support the government's ambitious trade and investment agenda and increase the opportunities to do business with China. Total Chinese investment in Australia grew more than eight-fold between 2002 and 2012, to 23 billion AU dollars (20 billion U.S. dollars) and we want to see stronger continued growth," Robb said.

Australia is accused of cracking down on poor immigrants whilst opening its arms to wealthy ones says the USA Today.

Countries around the world are lining up to attract the wealthy Chinese.

The USA Today reports that more than half of all Chinese multimillionaires have either left or plan to emigrate from China. It is apparently becoming a competitive business as more global suitors try and entice the wealthy Chinese, with speedy processing and relatively lenient criteria so long as the applicants can show them the money.

It’s no secret that the significant investor visa with its ‘888’ labelling was aimed at the Chinese. And it has hit the target. Chinese nationals now account for over 90% of the 545 applications.

Dear All,

It is my view, that  policy measure requiring 6 month of  trading for start up business nominating  RSMS visa applicant is illegal. PAM 3 sets up additional requirements outside legislative framework. Has anyone challenged it before ?

 DIBP has obvious difficulties with interpreting their own policy refusing to answer simple question, asked via agent's gateway . See below :