Australian Immigration Daily News

AUSTRALIA'S GDP is forecast to double to almost $3.5 trillion in the next 15 years, according to a report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CERB)

China and India are expected to race up to the top 3 spots (with the United States in second place) as the world largest economies in the near future says the report. The current top western economies are also expected to give way to the rising economies of South America and East Asia.

This tremendous growth is expected to fuel demand for Australian exports. Analysts accordingly expect that such a massive demand will necessarily require a larger Australian population which must either be fuelled by higher fertility rates or immigration.

Please see the below advice issued by the post in Dubai:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Today at 12:33 AM

Dear Registered Migration Agent

I am writing to you about changes to processing for Family Migration visa
applications sponsored by people who arrived in Australia as illegal
maritime arrivals (IMAs).

Your office has been identified as having visa applications being affected
by a new Direction by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.
This Direction states that Family Migration visa applications sponsored by
IMAs will be given the lowest processing priority. This Direction applies
to visa applicants sponsored by a person who arrived in Australia as an IMA
and who now holds a permanent visa. It does not apply where a sponsor is
already (or becomes) an Australian citizen. A copy of the new Direction is
available on LEGEND.

Applications sponsored by IMAs who hold a permanent visa will not be
processed until all applications of higher priority have been finalised. As
a result, these visa applications will not be processed further. There is
no priority for families sponsored by an IMA who are facing compelling or
compassionate circumstances.

Applicants who have already lodged valid applications and have paid the
Visa Application Charge (VAC) will not be refunded the VAC even if they
withdraw their application. We recommend that your clients cancel any
travel plans, and appointments for health, DNA and character checks.

As this visa processing Direction has been made by the Minister for
Immigration and Border Protection, this office is unable to assist with
further enquiries and complaints about this change. A FAQ document is also
attached to this email.

If a sponsor becomes an Australian citizen, please advise this office via
Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances available at
http://www.immi.gov.au/Pages/Welcome.aspx

If you have a case identified where the sponsor did not arrive in Australia
as an IMA after September 2001 please contact this office immediately with
the file number.

Kind regards
Ellen Dorfling
Consul (Immigration)
Chief Migration Officer
Australian Consulate-General
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Yet again no notification provided by the government about cutoff times....this time it's about NSW State sponsorship..... no information that we were nearing the close of state sponsorships, that the NSW government was down to it's final numbers towards end of 2013.  Consultation seems to be at an all time low at the start of 2014.  It can only get better I guess.  I received this email from a RMA...

Please take this up with the NSW State Sponsorship unit, if possible.

They have suspended accepting applications for 190 effective today. The notice seems to have been published today itself.

With 4 applications at hand, 2 of them ready for dispatch, it is extremely demotivating that they should suspend processing without sufficient advance notice. My clients prepared and couriered their applications from India only to find out that NSW wasn’t going to accept them until July 2014.
Check this out:

http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/live-and-work-in-nsw/visa-and-migration/skilled-sponsored-migration

Migration Alliance received the following email from the DIBP on 2 January 2014, an announcement which refers to a change happening for RMAs in late December 2013!  After the fact....but anyway....

Dear Registered Migration Agents

From late December 2013 registered migration agents will no longer be able to lodge applications with the department via the ‘Decision Ready’ process (see Agents Gateway for further information).  All applications lodged under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)(Subclass 186) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)(Subclass 187) visa programmes will now be queued and allocated by date of lodgement with the department. Further information will be available on the Agents Gateway shortly.

The department would like to remind agents that the department recognises that registered migration agents play an important part in delivering our programmes.  We are looking to strengthen our working relationship with migration agents, with a view to improving visa processing times for clients.  The most important way that you can assist the department is by lodging complete visa applications.  This significantly helps us to process applications quickly and efficiently and benefits our mutual clients.

Where you have any queries on the above update, please ensure those queries are directed through the ‘Permanent Employer Sponsored Visas’ channel available in the form of the Agents Gateway: www.immi.gov.au/gateways/agents/contact/feedback/

 

Kind regards,
 

Migration Agents Policy Section

Visa Framework & Family Policy Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection

Strong interest of Chinese tourists supported by the increased frequency and capacity of flights to Sydney from China is driving the boom.

The most recent National Visitor Survey has revealed a surge in tourists from China to New South Wales by 18 per cent over the previous year. China is now NSW top source of tourists. It has surpassed New Zealand.

The survey revealed that Chinese tourists stayed a total of more than 11.6 million nights and contributed $1.4 billion to the NSW economy. This was an increase of $178.5 million on the previous year.