Australian Immigration Daily News

The Migration Legislation Amendment (Hong Kong) Regulations 2021 (the Hong Kong Regulations) amend the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) and the Migration Amendment (New Skilled Visas) Regulations 2019 to complete the implementation of concessions for certain visa holders from Hong Kong that were jointly announced by the Prime Minister and the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs on 9 July 2020.

Source: MLA-HK-Reg-2021.pdf and 

MLA-HK-Reg-2021-explanatory-statement.pdf

The purpose of the instrument is to amend LIN 21/007 to specify additional circumstances under these provisions to allow refunds of the first instalment of a VAC. Refunds are being made available to certain persons who continue to be adversely impacted by COVID-19 related travel difficulties and hold, or have held, a Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage (Temporary) visa (Prospective Marriage visa).

The instrument specifies two additional circumstances in which the first instalment VAC for Prospective Marriage visa holders or former holders (visa holders) may be refunded.

The circumstances specified for VAC refunds in LIN 21/007 have not changed.

The Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Act 2020 (the Amendment Act) amended the Migration Act to improve the effectiveness of the scheme that regulates migration agents. The Amendment Act removed unrestricted legal practitioners from the regulatory scheme that governs migration agents to provide that unrestricted legal practitioners cannot register as migration agents and are entirely regulated by their own professional bodies.

The amendments made by the Amendment Act also permit eligible restricted legal practitioners to be both registered migration agents and restricted legal practitioners for a period of up to two years. 5 Subsection 278A(3) of the Migration Act provides that the eligible period is two years from the time the person first held a restricted practising certificate. However, section 333C of the Act provides that the eligible period for a person who was a restricted legal practitioner immediately before the day Division 8 commenced (22 March 2021) is two years after that commencement day.

Source: LIN21020.pdf and LIN21020-Explanatory-Statement.pdf

The following information has been received from the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

Changes-to-lodgement-arrangements-for-Aus-Citizenship-by-descent-and-Evidence-of-Aus-citizenship.pdf

Purpose

The purpose of the instrument is to specify: activities for subparagraph 22A(1)(a)(i) of the Act, organisations for paragraph 22A(1)(b) of the Act, and kinds of work for paragraph 22B(1)(a) of the Act. A person applying for Australian citizenship by conferral (the applicant) must satisfy the eligibility criteria under section 21 of the Act, including a residence requirement. The residence requirement can be satisfied under either the general residence requirement (see section 22), the special residence requirement (see sections 22A and 22B) or the defence service requirement (see section 23).

5 To meet the special residence requirement in section 22A of the Act an applicant must, amongst other requirements, seek to engage in a specified activity of benefit to Australia, and are required to become an Australian citizen in order to do so (see subparagraphs 22A(1)(a)(i), (ii) and (iii)). The head of, or senior member of a specified organisation must give the Minister written notice stating that the applicant has a reasonable prospect of being engaged in that activity. Subsections 22C(1) and (2) of the Act enable the Minister to specify the activities and organisations in a legislative instrument.

To meet the special residence requirement in section 22B of the Act the applicant must, amongst other requirements, be engaged in a specified kind of work. The applicant must be engaged in that work at the time of application and must be required to regularly travel outside Australia because of that work. Subsection 22C(3) of the Act enables the Minister to specify the kind of work in a legislative instrument.

The instrument is made under subsections 22C(1), (2) and (3) of the Act to specify activities, organisations and kinds of work. The instrument broadens the special residence requirement from IMMI 13/056 by specifying additional activities, organisations and kinds of work. In particular, the instrument: