Join us for

Exclusive SIV cocktail event

Following the successful SIV cocktail events held in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne,  Migration Alliance is delighted to invite migration agents who practice in, or have an interest in Significant Investor 188 and 888 applications to an exclusive event by our sponsors NAB Private Wealth to be now held in Perth.

The review of OMARA provides a rare opportunity for registered migration agents (RMAs) to voice their opinion on how the industry ought to be regulated. The Migration Alliance encourages RMAs to review its white paper and provide comments and suggestions before it is submitted to the reviewer.

The migration advisory industry is growing at a rate of over 6 per cent a year with currently some 5200 agents registered to provide migration advice. The demand for professional migration advice is on the rise. Perhaps the increase in the number of RMAs is due to the tightening of immigration legislation in Australia, making it a particularly tight-line for prospective migrants to walk alone in their aspiration for Australian residency. Perhaps the increase in the number of registered practitioners is also the result of the campaign against unregistered practice.

Undoubtedly, as immigration controls tighten and people become more desperate to gain entry or remain in Australia, the importance of good immigration advice will only intensify. Discerning clients will be looking to professional assistance given the complex migration laws and policies, the high stakes and increasingly expensive application charges.

Indeed, then the review of the industry’s regulatory is timely as the current regime is not working well enough given the numerous complaints from RMAs we have seen on this blog. The review then, provides a rare opportunity for RMAs to voice their opinions on how the industry ought to be regulated.

The Migration Alliance has taken the lead in this and has laid out a proposed framework for the regulation of the industry in its White Paper. To help ensure that this proposal properly reflects the views of RMAs, the MA has invited RMAs to comment on the White Paper and offer suggestions before it is submitted to the reviewer. The closing date for submission is 27 July 2014.

The following email has been sent into NSW Trade and Investment Migration Policy this morning by me:

Hi Lindsey

RMAs are not satisfied with the response provided by NSW Government. 

Amid allegations wealthy Chinese ­citizens are secretly transferring money into overseas property markets, Australian banks’ are being queried at various levels including the claim of the ‘mis-using’ of the ‘Significant Investor Visa’ funds for investment into Australian real estate, reports the Australian Financial Review.

Banks are telling a parliamentary economics committee inquiry investigating the foreign investment in Australian real estate, that they there are limitations on what they know about foreign real estate investors.

The AFR reports that the Macquarie Group was asked what it did to make sure loan clients were not mis-using the “Significant Investor Visa” and diverting the funds into property assets: “Macquarie said it did not directly monitor how loaned funds were being used but it had the power to call in the loan or seize collateral early if clients were dishonest.”

ANZ, which is targeting Asian customers, was asked whether it traced the source of income for individual foreign buyers when it was lending money to domestic property developers.

The bank’s response, said it did not trace foreign buyers’ source of income, but it checked the post-codes of “pre-sales” to make sure they were genuine.

The Coalition has invalidated legislation deeming oil and gas projects to be within Australia’s migration zone, insisting the controversial move was necessary to restore certainty to the $200 billion offshore oil and gas sector.

In response to a Senate vote Wednesday night that blocked several visa categories for foreign oil and gas industry workers, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Michaelia Cash issued a Legislative Instrument on Thursday to override the vote. The minister said that the controversial move was necessary to restore certainty to the $200 billion offshore oil and gas sector.

Labor’s legislation amended the Migration Act to ensure people working in an “offshore resources activity” were deemed to be in Australia’s migration zone. Therefore, foreign workers would have been required to hold an “offshore resources visa” or permanent visa.

Last Wednesday the Australian Senate voted to disallow a regulation that put foreign workers into three visa categories. That regulation, Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Regulation 2014, was intended to quash a more restrictive law put in place by the previous government that would have required a new “offshore resources” visa for those workers. Both measures had effective dates of 30 June.

Following the disallowance vote, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Michaelia Cash quickly issued Legislative Instrument IMMI 14/077 – Determination Subsection A(6) Migration Act 1958 to override the vote.