Australian Immigration Daily News

TOEFL® test experts Helen Cook and Cath Moore from ETS Global will present “TOEFL Insights for Agents” in four Australian cities to help migration agents and migration lawyers stay informed about the choices of English-language tests for skilled migrants.

The free, two-hour session is being offered in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide on select dates from March through May.  Further sessions for other locations are planned later in the year.

The session is designed to:

What if a visa applicant fails the character test because the applicant has a substantial criminal history.

Does that mean the visa application is certain to be refused, and that there is no hope of getting the refusal overturned in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal?

Well, a decision that was handed down by the Tribunal in early March – Hodson and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Migration) (2017) AATA 254 (1 March 2017) – illustrates that this type of situation is not “hopeless”.  It is possible for an applicant to succeed before the Tribunal despite failing the character test.

General Skilled Migration – Overview

The subclass 189 visa is a permanent residence visa for points-tested skilled workers who want to work and live in Australia. The 189 visa is intended for individuals who are not sponsored by an employer or family member or nominated by a state or territory government.

To be able to apply for this visa you need to submit an expression of interest and then be invited through SkillSelect to apply.  You can be in or outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is granted.

OK readers, here’s the quiz of the month! It may be the quiz of the year if I can’t find an excuse to have another quiz!

And no, the quiz is not: “What insane tweet came out of the White House today?” That would be way too easy!

No, the quiz is a conundrum that made it all the way up to the High Court of Australia:

Suppose an applicant for a Protection visa does not respond to an invitation to appear at a hearing before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Suppose further that the applicant does not in fact appear at the Tribunal on the date that has been fixed for the hearing, and does not contact the Tribunal to explain her/his absence.

In that circumstance, can the Tribunal lawfully proceed to make a decision on the review without taking any further action to allow or enable the applicant to appear?