Australian Immigration Daily News

With the number of international student enrolments dropping rapidly across the country, ACT has announced a pilot program to reintroduce foreign students back into Australian universities.

As the number of COVID19 infections continues to stabilise across the country, each State and Territory is looking at ways to get the economy back on track.

Since the pandemic the travel ban blocked nearly 120,000 students from entering Australia causing major economic strain on education sector.

Today the Parlianment, introduced with the Migration Agents Registration Application Charge Amendment (Rates of Charge) Bill 2019, the bill amends the Migration Act 1958 to: remove unrestricted legal practitioners from the regulatory scheme that governs migration agents; allow eligible restricted legal practitioners to be both registered migration agents and restricted legal practitioners for a period of up to two years; enable the time period in which a person can be considered an applicant for repeat registration as a migration agent to be specified in delegated legislation; remove the 12-month time limit within which a person must apply for registration following completion of a prescribed course; clarify that the powers under Part 3 of the Act are exercisable by the minister; enable the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) to refuse an application to become a registered migration agent where an applicant has failed to provide information or answer questions in relation to their application; require registered migration agents to notify MARA if they have paid the non-commercial application charge for their current period of registration but give immigration assistance otherwise than on a non-commercial basis; and provide that the definitions of 'immigration assistance' and 'makes immigration representations' include assisting a person in relation to a request to the minister to exercise his or her power under the Act to revoke a character-related visa refusal or cancellation decision.

Full analysis of the Bill and practical implications will be avalable shorlty.

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6448#:~:text=Introduced%20with%20the%20Migration%20Agents,practitioners%20to%20be%20both%20registered

The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it will be delivering online citizenship ceremonies via secure video-link to enable those applicants who are already approved to continue to become Australian citizens.

Online citizenship ceremonies will be with the presiding officer and generally a single conferee, or a household group if they reside at the same location, and are shorter than traditional in-person ceremonies while still ensuring legal requirements are met. Ceremonies performed online continue to include integrity measures, such as identity checks.

Following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions across a number of jurisdictions, small in-person citizenship ceremonies are also being reintroduced from June 2020. The exact date is yet to be confirmed. These ceremonies must comply with current state or territory directives on the limits on small gatherings, and meet COVIDcSafe requirements.

If you have graduated from a tertiary institution in Tasmania after studying in the state for at least one academic year (40 weeks at a CRICOS registered institution) you may be considered for a state nominated visa.

Courses to Study

Tasmanian education providers offer a variety of course and are most interested in those students who can make a positive contribution to the state. The likelihood of Tasmanian nomination will be increased if the Tasmanian studies, or other experiences in Tasmania benefit the state. A good starting point is to review the Tasmanian Skilled Occupations List (TSOL)

Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional Provisional Visa (NSW State Sponsored Stream) opens on Monday 15^th June and will close at 5pm 23 June 2020.  The goal is to have these applications assessed by the end of financial year, being Tuesday 30^th June 2020.  The visa was initially introduced as part of the wider regional reforms with the aim to provide:

• Priority processing of regional applications
• Incentives for migrants to stay in regional areas longer term as they build ties through workforce and community participation
• Can apply for permanent residence without a second nomination stage, if eligible, through the subclass 191 visa (commences 16 November 2022)
• Lower cost to employers with only one SAF levy stage for the subclass 494 nomination (compared to the two stages for the current subclass 482 to ENS subclass 186 permanent resident pathway)
• More points available to subclass 491 visa applicants
• Broader range of occupations available than non-regional pathways
• Expanded and consistent classification of regional areas
• The minimum taxable income for the subclass 494 and 191 visa will be set at the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) unless concessions are agreed (such as in relation to a DAMA). TSMIT is currently $53,900.

NSW State nomination criteria includes: