Australian Immigration Daily News

The following information has been received by email from the Australian Embassy in Manila:

SCAM ALERT

The Embassy is aware of a hoax/scam suggesting that visa-free options for Filipino nationals will be available from January 2017. This is a scam and potential travelers to Australia must have a valid Australian visa. Australia maintains a universal visa regime. This means Filipino passport holders must have a visa, as a result of a visa application, regardless of the length of travel. If you intend to travel to Australia for any length of time, please see the Embassy website for information on how to apply for an Australian visa:

• Previously acceptable visa types are being shown the door by a number of Australian lenders
• It's still possible to borrow at higher loan amounts with certain visa types and if you can present a strong case to the right lender

21 February 2017, Sydney, Australia - Temporary residents living in Australia are feeling the sting of strict mortgage lending policies for foreigners.

Initially, banks had only pulled back on lending to foreign citizens living overseas wanting to invest Down Under.

In the past year though, a number of banks have been requiring temp residents to come up with larger deposits, even those on long-stay 457 visas.

The Subclass 485 Visa enables overseas graduates to live, work and travel within Australia temporarily after they’ve finished their studies. This visa was designed to help develop the skills graduates gained during their studies within Australia, as well as making them more employable upon their return to their home country. In 2013, this visa was broadened to make studying at an Australian university more appealing in such a competitive global education market.

When applying for this visa, applicants must provide evidence that they have made appropriate arrangements for health insurance in Australia for the duration of the visa processing period, and for the duration of their visa, once it has been granted.

If you have clients who are applying for a Temporary Graduate Visa Bupa’s overseas visitor covers meet Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) health insurance requirements and also include the following benefits:

The Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) now accepts TOEFL iBT® scores to meet the English language requirements for skills assessment and National Veterinary Examination application purposes. 

To meet the requirement, applicants must achieve the following minimum scores in each section:

• Listening - 24
• Reading - 24
• Speaking - 23
• Writing - 27

This standard must be achieved in the one sitting and its currency is two years.

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