Australian Immigration Daily News

Labour agreements enable approved businesses to sponsor skilled overseas workers when there is a demonstrated need that cannot be met in the Australian labour market and standard temporary or permanent visa programs are not available.

Labour agreements are developed between the Australian Government (represented by the Department) and employers. They are generally in effect for five years and provide for visas to be granted under one or both of the following visa programs:

• Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482)
• Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186).

It is formal arrangement negotiated between an Australian employer and the Australian Government.  Applying for a visa under a labour agreement is the only migration pathway for employers seeking to recruit overseas workers for semi-skilled positions, or skilled positions where concessions to mainstream visa requirements are sought.

The following newsletter for November 2018 has been released by Lewis and Bollard, and makes excellent reading. 

Migration_Newsletter_702.01.pdf

From 17 November 2018 the Department of Home Affairs, will offer current Subclass 405 (Investor Retirement) as well as Subclass 410 (Retirement) visa holders ability to transition to permanent residence.

Briefly, subclass 405/410 visas are aimed at self-funded retirees who have no dependents and want to live in Australia during their retirement years.  These visas enable the applicants who are 55 years or older or with a set income of AUD$65,000 per year (or AUD$50,000 per year to live in a regional area) or a set investment to reside in Australia on a temporary basis.  However, both visa categories are now closed to new applicants.  The new Regulations target retirees who, at the time this change was announced in the Federal Budget on 8 May 2018, held a Subclass 405 (Investor Retirement) visa or a Subclass 410 (Retirement) visa, or who did not hold a substantive visa on that date and the last substantive visa held was one of those visas. In addition, the retiree must not have held a substantive visa, other than one of those visas, since 8 May 2018.

The new legislative instrument establishes a pathway to permanently regularise the status of ageing and increasingly vulnerable long-term temporary residents, holders of Retirement (subclass 410) and Investor Retirement (subclass 405) visas (Retirees), by providing them with a pathway to obtain a permanent visa.  By way of background, the Retirement visa was introduced more than 35 years ago to encourage self-supporting Retirees to bring overseas funds into the Australian economy and spend time in Australia as temporary residents at no cost to Australia’s social and welfare system.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has shut down an elaborate contrived marriages syndicate operating out of Sydney.

A 32-year-old Indian national faced court on 30 October over his alleged role as the main facilitator.

A further four Australian citizens have also been charged for allegedly convincing individuals to fraudulently marry non-citizens seeking to obtain permanent residency.

Subregulation 2.07(5) - Migration Regulations 1994

The purpose of the instrument is to increase the eligible age range for Canadian and Irish applicants for the Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa, from an upper age limit of 30 to 35.

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