Australian Immigration Daily News

The dust following 1 July changes is beginning to finally settle, yet many foreign nationals who are currently living in Australia or those wanting to move to Australia are scratching their heads in figuring out the best strategy to do so. Just before 1 July, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection announced major changes to the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186 Visa) as well as Regional Migration Scheme (Subclass 187 Visa).  The impact of these changes left many applicants no longer eligible to pursue permanent residence through their nominating employer.

The following changes have been implemented with immediate effect on 1 July:

English Language

The English test score for ENS and RSMS applications lodged under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream on or after 1 July was increased to IELTS (or equivalent test) 6 in each component.  This change had a dramatic impact for applicants with a lower test score which may have been sufficient under the old requirements.  This change appears at odds with the fact that an IELTS test score of 5 is still accepted for subclass 457 visas.

Furthermore, the English language skills exemption for both ENS and RSMS has been removed for those who have nominated earnings at least equivalent to the current Australian Taxation Office top individual income tax rate (AUD 180,001).   The removal of exemption will therefore require all primary applicants to satisfy the English language requirement at the time of application.

Skills Requirement

The exemption from skills assessment for applications made under the Direct Entry (DE) stream of both ENS and RSMS has been removed for those who have nominated earnings at least equivalent to the current Australian Taxation Office top individual income tax rate (AUD$180,001).  The removal of this exemption means that all applicants will need to provide a positive Skills Assessment or evidence their skills at the time of application where an application is made under DE Stream.  This is a significant change especially concerning RSMS applicants applying under DE.  Unfortunately for many additional time may need to be factored into getting their visa application lodged.

Genuine need

From 1 July 2017, all ENS and RSMS TRT stream and DE stream nominations must provide evidence of ‘Genuine need’ for the person to work in the nominated position.  In addition to the current scrutiny faced by employers wanting to sponsor their employers, further justification will need to be provided around why they are nominating an employee for permanent residence.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

The good news is that Australian immigration offers other permanent residence pathways via General Skilled Migration as well as family and special category streams.  It is therefore more important than ever to consider other categories of visas which may offer permanent residence.

What is a subclass 189/190 Visa

Subclass 189 is points tested permanent residence visa.  The purpose of this visa is to attract skilled migrants to move to Australia as permanent residents.  This visa also offers a pathway to Australian Citizenship as well as special accelerated pathway to Citizenship for New Zealand Citizens holding a subclass 444 visa, assuming they meet the eligibility criteria.

The advantage of applying for a visa subclass within this category is that you do not need an employer to sponsor you.  This automatically relinquishes the requirement to show the genuine need I mentioned earlier.  Whilst some of the criteria such as evidence of skills and English language criteria applies to this pathway, advantages may potentially outweigh any disadvantages.  For example, the processing time is currently set at 4 to 7 months for subclass 189 visas compared to 8 to 13 months for 186/187 visas.

In order to qualify for this visa, applicant needs to score at least 60 points for most occupations.  Points are awarded based on age, skills, employment and other factors such as partner skills.

Subclass 190 visa carries similar requirements to the 189 visa, however, the main difference between the two subclasses is 190 visa being a state nominated visa which means that your nominated occupation must be on the list for the state you are planning to reside.  You may also receive additional points for being awarded a state based nomination.

Recent report published by the Department of Immigration indicates that over 189,770 permanent visas were available to foreign nationals for the last financial year.  The significant majority are skilled visas such as ENS and GSM making up 128,550 places. Accordingly permanent residence via skilled migration pathway is still preferred option to migration to Australia.  Nonetheless it is important to explore all permanent options such as family, special eligibility visas such as distinguished talent and business skills visas.  Australian immigration system can be frustrating and extremely unstable, it is however full of options which should not be left ignored.

Feel free to get in touch with me with your comments or if you need assistance to navigate through this network of permanent visas! E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MARN 1171402