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The South Australian Government has finally reinstated the capital investment pathway to Australian skilled migration for those who lodged their visa application before September 1, 2007.

After 13 months of patient waiting, those skilled migrants wishing move to Australia using capital investment scheme can now finally proceed with their Australian visa application.

On the 1st September 2007, as part of changes to the Australian General Skilled Migration programme, the Australian government removed the right to gain five extra bonus points towards an Australian skilled migration application if the applicant invested a minimum $100,000 for at least one year in a nominated Australian bond.

The removal of the capital investment scheme meant that applications for skilled migration lodged after September 1, 2007 could no longer use the capital investment scheme to gain bonus points towards their application.

After reports of a scam involving unauthorised loans, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) then ruled that the capital investment scheme would no longer be open to any applications, even if they submitted their visa applications before September 1. This affected thousands of migrant hopefuls, who until now have been left without a pathway to Australian migration.

The South Australian Government Financing Authority (SAFA) is now officially reinstating the capital investment scheme for the General Skilled Migration program (bonus points for capital investment). However, this applies only to those applicants who applied under this category before 1st September 2007, and were instructed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to invest a minimum $100,000 for at least one year in a nominated Australian bond.

As it has been over a year since applications for migration under this category have been allowed, eligible applicants are encouraged to consult their migration agents before proceeding with their application to ensure they are eligible.

Applicants are also warned that the processing times of applications may be considerably delayed due to the expected influx of applications under this re-opened pathway to Australian skilled migration.

To discuss this change please feel free to post a response to the thread started in our forums here.

Article Source : visabureau.com

Article Popularity: 15%

In response to the current demand for IELTS test results for candidates with Student Visas expiring by 15 March 2009, a number of IELTS test centres throughout Australia have opened emergency places on February 7 and February 21 2009.

There are additional tests available in Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Rockhampton and Darwin.

These tests are for students based in Australia if your visa ceases on 15 March 2009 and you want to apply for General Skilled Migration.

You will only be able to secure one of these emergency test places by presenting proof that your student visa ceases on 15 March 2009 along with your passport. Continue Reading

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The Australian state of Victoria has announced sweeping changes to the list of occupations that it deems eligible for state sponsorship under the class 176 visa for emigration to Australia.

Migrants to Australia who seek permanent residence have the option of applying for a subclass 176 visa, if they are unable to pass the immigration points test for independent migration. A 176 visa allows a migrant to be sponsored either by an eligible family member, or the government of an Australian state or territory.

In the case of state or territory sponsorship, governments can sponsor the residence application of a migrant, in exchange for a commitment to live in the state for at least the first two years after migrating to Australia. Each state has a list of occupations in demand that it deems eligible for sponsorship.

Victoria has been an active participant in the 176 visa scheme. The changes, effective from January 12, 2009, reflect the changing labour market in Australia’s second-most populous state. Continue Reading

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Since giving birth to our own baby girl since migrating down under we’ve had a number of comments made on this associated post asking what the immigration status,  residency or citizenship status of their own  baby will be following the birth.

With this in mind I thought I’d write up a quick article to summarise the residency and citizenship status of your baby should you be blessed with the birth of a new child whilst spending your time down under.

On the assumption that you applied for your Permanent Residency visa before your baby was born the following circumstances will normally apply.

If your baby is born in Australia, and at least one parent is an Australian permanent visa holder or Australian citizen, your baby is an Australian citizen by birth. No Australian visa is required for this baby.

If your baby is born in Australia and neither parent is an Australian citizen or permanent visa holder, your baby will generally automatically acquire the visa of either parent dependent on whichever visa is more “beneficial”.

If your baby is born outside Australia, and at least one parent is an Australian citizen otherwise than by descent, your baby is eligible for Australian citizenship by descent.

If your baby is born outside Australia and at least one parent is an Australian citizen by descent and that parent was present in Australia lawfully for at least 2 years before your baby’s citizenship registration, your baby is eligible for Australian citizenship by descent.

If your baby is born outside Australia, and neither parent is an Australian citizen, your baby has no immigration status in Australia and will need a visa to enter Australia. Continue Reading

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Hi folks and let me take this opportunity to wish you a very happy new year! Hopefully 2009 will bring many opportunities including a new life down under.

Updated Information on skilled migration applications being processed in the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre (ASPC) and Brisbane Skilled Processing Centre (BSPC) can be found below

To discuss these latest updates please post to this thread in our forums. Remember you can also join other members of our community who applied for their Aystralian Visas at the same time as you within our Australian Visa Timeline Forum.

Adelaide

1. ASPC APPLICATION ALLOCATION INFORMATION

Applications lodged on or prior to the dates shown below are being allocated to case officers for further processing.

Onshore Student/Graduate GSM / Paper & E-lodged / Class DD and DE visas

Subclass 880, 881 and 882:
E-Lodged: All Allocated
Paper Lodged: All Allocated

Offshore GSM / Paper lodged / Class BN, BQ, BR, UX and UZ

Subclasses 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 495 and 496: Continue Reading

Article Popularity: 16%

An interesting and useful revision for those applying under one of the skilled Migration programs.

The Rudd Government will revise the migration program for the second half of 2008-09 so that skilled migrants who have a confirmed job, or have skills in critical need will be given priority for a permanent visa to come to Australia.

In a statement tabled in Parliament today, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said the changes, effective from 1 January, will ensure that the Skilled Migration program is driven by the requirements of industry and targets skills in critical need across a number of sectors.

‘This will ensure our migration program is more responsive to the needs of the economy and assists industries still experiencing skills shortages,’ Senator Evans said.

‘In light of the changing economic circumstances, the Rudd Government has reviewed the Skilled Migration program and consulted business and industry along with state and territory governments Australia-wide about their skills needs. Continue Reading

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On 14 November 2008 the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans, released the report of the Visa Subclass 457 Integrity Review conducted by industrial relations expert Barbara Deegan.

The Temporary Business (Subclass 457) Visa is the most commonly used program for employers to sponsor overseas workers to work in Australia from a period of between 3 months to 4 years, however in the past the visa class has frequently being used to exploit ‘cheap labour’.

The report attempts to address concerns in three areas:

Minimum Salary Level and Labour Agreements

English Language Requirement and Occupational Health and Safety

Integrity and Exploitation

You can check out the full reports by clicking here (link opens in a new window)

Article Popularity: 14%

Where do I start is one of the most common questions asked by many of those looking to start a new life down under.

The answer to this question is usually decide which Visa option you’ll utilise to get yourself here, however there are so many visa options available for wannabee Aussies that deciding which one is the most suitable is often one of the trickiest parts of the whole process.

The process may now be a slightly more straight forward one as the Australian Department of Immigration has introduced a new tool to help guide users through the tricky process of choosing the most appropriate visa path.

The “Visa Wizard” is designed to help you find the Australian visa most likely to meet your specific circumstances and having had a play around with the wizard this morning it appears to be a pretty useful and user friendly tool Continue Reading

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It was only a few months ago back in June when I wrote with a cheerful tone about the increase in the number of places available for wannabe Aussies during the 2008 – 2009 Migration Program.

A recent interview given by the Australian PM Kevin Rudd hints at a bit of a rethink which may have implication for many folks dreaming of a new life down under,

During an interview with the Fairfax Radio Network in Melbourne. The Aussie PM recognised that the current immigration rate was an increase on the previous year to meet employer demands for more skilled workers, particularly in mining and resource intensive Western Australia and Queensland.

He then goes onto say however that “as with all previous governments, and mine’s the same, whenever we set immigration targets we will adjust them according to the economic circumstances of the day,” Continue Reading

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OK, October is finally here so time to post this months update. There appears to be progress in quite a few of the visa classes. Unfortunately Sub classes such as the 136 seem to be dragging their heals. Still, progress is progress for some.

To Discuss the current update please use this thread in our forums.

Also, remember, if you have applied for your Australian Immigration Visa during the month of October then join other Getting Down Under Members who have applied at the same time by posting to this thread in our Australian Visa Time line Forum Continue Reading

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This months update is a little longer as application processing is now undertaken between two centres based in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Although splitting the processing across two processing centres should ultimately reduce the amount of time it takes to process Australian Visas, applicants should be mindful that applications sent to Adelaide which are now processed at the Brisbane offices are in transit to the new processing centre.

To discuss the current timeline, please feel free to post in our Australian Visa Timeline Forum or the thread for this current updated posted here.

Brisbane Skilled Processing Centre – Processing information as of the 1st September 2008

From 1 July 2008 certain General Skilled Migration applications are now being processed in Brisbane.

The Brisbane office will now process the following General Skilled Migration visa applications that have been lodged electronically for Onshore applicants: Continue Reading

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The Australian Visa Timeline Forum here at Getting down under is one of the most useful and popular features amongst our online community of folks looking to emigrate to Australia.

The concept is a straight forward one. At the beginning of each month we post a new Australian Visa timeline thread within our timeline forum asking those members who have started the process of migrating to Australia within that month to make themselves known within that particular thread.

This way, as more members join the thread for the month they started the application process, the more members they can communicate with who are working towards the same timeline.

We decided to utilise our forums for this feature as the forum software also enables users to subscribe to the forum or particular threads.

This way, say for example you applied for your Australian Visa in August 2008 and wanted to share your experiences with other members working on a similar timeline, all you’d need to do is post to the thread to say hi and then subscribe to the August 2008 Thread. Then when someone else updates this thread you’ll receive an email straight aware or daily or even weekly depending on your preferences to tell you that someone has made contact or updated their own timeline Continue Reading

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OK Guys, it’s August already so please find below details of the Australian Immigration processing lead time for as of August 2008.

To discuss this time line then check out this thread in our forum. Also remember to check out our Australian Visa Time line Forum which has been set up specifically so that folks sharing a similar timeline can hang out and keep each other motivated during times of stress

NEWSFLASH

The Brisbane Skilled Processing Centre (BSPC) commenced operations on 1July 2008. BSCP are processing electronically lodged applications for Classes VB and VC lodged on or after 1 July 2008.

Any paper documents received in Adelaide for these applications will be couriered to Brisbane for processing. Applicants are encouraged to provide their documents electronically either by attaching them to the application or by email.

Supporting documentation and enquiries regarding these applications should be directed to the relevant Brisbane contact point. Continue Reading

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News in from the guys at the Department of Immigration (immi) that from the 1st August minimum Salary Levels under Subclass 457 program are to increase.

The 457 Visa   is the most commonly used program for employers to sponsor overseas workers to work in Australia on a temporary basis (3 months to 4 years). There are also special arrangements for employers in regional areas across Australia.

On 1 August 2008 a new Legislative Instrument (Gazette Notice) was issued, increasing the Minimum Salary Level (MSL) by 3.8 per cent.

This instrument applies not only to new sponsored worker visa applicants, but to all sponsored workers.

This means that the formula for calculating the MSL will apply to every sponsored worker who is paid in accordance with an MSL.

See the attached PDF on the immi website for more details:

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The Australian budget has been and gone and I didn’t pay that much attention to it to be honest.

Having said all that though a post made in our forums suddenly made me realise that the Australian Budget had pretty large implications for all wannabe Aussies.

The Labor party budget for 2008-09 includes an increase of almost 300,000 visas to Australia in a bid to address labour shortages in Australia.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan revealed a healthy increase of almost 300,000 more permanent and temporary visas to Australia as a part of the Labor Party Budget for the 2008-09. This is the biggest annual increase in visas in the history of Australia’s migration program

The new budget accommodates for an extra 31,000 skilled migrant visas, and over 150,000 other permanent migrant visas such as family visas & spouse visas. Continue Reading

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Guys, latest Australian Visa Processing time line for June 2008.

Any comments or questions please post them in this thread on our forums.

RECEIPTING AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF APPLICATIONS

The ASPC is currently receipting new applications within service standards.

Once an application has been receipted it undergoes validity checking and an acknowledgement letter with client information and a receipt will be sent.

If an application is determined to be invalid documents will be returned and a refund of the visa application charge arranged.

As of June 2008 the ASPC Admin Section is processing applications as follows:

Onshore Applications: receipting and acknowledging applications received on 10 June 2008.

Offshore Applications: receipting and acknowledging applications received on 10 June 2008.

Once an application has been acknowledged it will be allocated to a case officer for further assessment as soon as possible, however, the ASPC receives a large number of applications and you will not be contacted immediately.

PROCESSING AND ALLOCATION INFORMATION – For the week of 10 June 2008

Applications lodged on or before the dates shown below have been allocated to case officers for further processing.

Continue Reading

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