Migration (Specified courses and exams for registration as a migration agent) (Capstone provider) Amendment Instrument (LIN 21/044) 2021 dated 20 September 2021[“the Instrument”] specifies Legal Training Australia Pty Ltd as the new and sole prescribed provider for the Capstone assessment for the purpose of examination for registration as a migration agent from01 January 2021. The Instrument amends the Migration (IMMI 18/003: Specified courses and exams for registration as a migration agent) Instrument 2018 since The College of Law Limited has ceased being the Capstone provider on 31 December 2020. Further, it removes the definition and references to the common assessment items relating to registration, i.e., assessment items under the Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice, which became redundant post 31 December 2018 as they were specified as a prescribed examination only until 31 December 2017. The Instrument in Part 3 also provides transitional provisions to clarify that the applicants who passed the Capstone offered by The College of Law on or before 31 December 2020 are able to apply for registration on that basis since they have 12 months after passing the Capstone to apply for registration. The Instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 21 September 2021, commenced on 22 September July 2021, and is currently in force. To access the full Instrument, click here.
Invitation Round: 13 September 2021 Matrix nominating Small Business Owners: 0 invitations ACT 190 nominations: 0 invitations 190 minimum Matrix score: ACT 491 nominations: 0 invitations 491 minimum Matrix score: 457 visa / 482 visa holders: 03 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 03 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 0 invitations Matrix nominating Critical Skill occupations: 50invitations ACT 190 nomination: 01 invitations 190 minimum Matrix score: 120 ACT 491 nomination: 49 invitations 491 minimum Matrix score: 65 (Accountants: 110) Invitations were not issued if the applicants have an active application in the system or have previously received ACT nomination. The next Canberra Matrix invitation round will be held before 23 September 2021.
State Nominated Migration Program (SNMP) Invitation Date: 24 August 2021 Visa Subclass General Stream Graduate Stream WASMOL Schedule 1 WASMOL Schedule 2 Higher Education Graduates Vocational Education And Training Graduates Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190) 81 985 147 20 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491) / Subclass 489 70 115 66 39 In 2021-2022, a total of 2195 invitations have been issued as of 31 August 2021: Visa Subclass General Stream Graduate Stream WASMOL Schedule 1 WASMOL Schedule 2 Higher Education Graduates Vocational Education And Training Graduates Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190) 146 999 379 38 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491) / Subclass 489 127 401 66 39 Total 2195
Compilation of Migration Regulation 1994 dated 30 July 2021 incorporates the amendments made by Migration Amendment (Temporary Sponsored Parent Visas) Regulations 2021 to allow certain Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa (Subclass 870) holders an additional time of 18 months to travel to and stay in Australia once travel resumes after COVID-19 related travel restrictions are lifted. The Regulations also make changes in the relevant visa criteria to reflect the amendment. Migration Amendment (Temporary Sponsored Parent Visas) Regulations 2021 extend subclass 870 visa period for 18 months, in addition to the period for which the visa was originally granted, for visa holders who were outside Australia on 01 July 2021, in order to limit the adverse impact of COVID-19 related travel restrictions and practical difficulties on holders of Subclass 870 visas. The Regulations also amend the criteria for making a valid application for the subsequent Subclass 870 Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa to provide that the total period of Subclass 870 visas already held by the applicant must be ‘less than 10 years, which was previously ‘not exceeding ten years. The Compilation is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 14 Sep 2021, commenced on 30 July 2021, and is currently in force. To access the full compilation, click here.
On 14 September 2021, Victoria Government has announced that the State nominations for Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) subclass 188Bvisa – Investor stream and Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) subclass 188Cvisa– Significant Investor stream are now open for the program year 2021-2022. The eligibility criteria for Investor stream nomination requires the applicants to be less than 55 years; intending to live in Victoria; complying with investments of at least AUD $2.5 million in Victoria(held for the duration of the provisional visa); securing at least 80 points in SkillSelect; be committed to meet the requirements for permanent residence as well as meet the Department’ visa criteria. Further, as part of the changes announced, the applicants are not required to make any additional investments or invest in Designated Investment Bonds but must make all complying Venture Capital and Private Growth Equity funds (VCPE) investments only into Victorian-based funds. The eligibility criteria for SignificantInvestor stream nomination requires the applicants intending to live in Victoria; complying with investments of at least AUD $5 million in Victoria(held for the duration of the provisional visa); be committed to meet the requirements for permanent residence as well as meet the Department’ visa criteria. Further, as part of the changes announced, the applicants must make all complying with Venture Capital and Private Growth Equity funds (VCPE) investments only into Victorian-based funds. The announcement further clarifies that the new requirements do not affect the nominations received prior to 01 July 2021. Interested and eligible applicants are now able to lodge a nomination application via the Live in Melbourne portal and ensure that any requests for further information are responded to within 2 weeks. The current processing times for the Investor stream and Significant Investor stream are 20 days and 10 days, respectively.
Immigration (Education) (Specification of temporary visas) Amendment Instrument (LIN 21/070) 2021 dated 12 September 2021[“the Instrument”] amends Immigration (Education) (Specification of temporary visas) Instrument (LIN 21/013) 2021 dated 19 April 2021 to add Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) subclass 449 visa to the list of specified temporary visa subclasses, holders of which are eligible to access English language tuition under the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) for the purpose of subparagraphs 4(1)(b)(ii) and 4A(1)(a)(ii) of the Immigration (Education) Act 1971. The amendment responds to the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan and is one of the various measures being undertaken by the Australian Government to provide re-settlement assistance to Afghan nationals in Australia as many are expected to be granted the Humanitarian Stay visa. The other visa holders eligible to access English language tuition under the AMEP include the following subclasses: Subclass 160 – Business Owner (Provisional) Subclass161 – Senior Executive (Provisional) Subclass162 – Investor (Provisional) Subclass163 – State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) Subclass164 – State/Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) Subclass165 – State/Territory Sponsored Investor (Provisional) Subclass 188 – Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Subclass445 – Dependent Child Subclass820 -Partner Visa Subclass309 – Partner (Provisional) Subclass786 – Temporary (Humanitarian Concern) Subclass489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional) Subclass491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Subclass494 – Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Subclass060 – Bridging F Subclass785 – Temporary Protection Subclass790 – Safe Haven Enterprise To access the Instrument, click here.
Invitation Round: 08 September 2021 Matrix nominating Small Business Owners: 01 invitations ACT 190 nominations: 01 invitations 190 minimum Matrix score: 80 ACT 491 nominations: 0 invitations 491 minimum Matrix score: 457 visa / 482 visa holders: 02 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 02 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 0 invitations Matrix nominating Critical Skill occupations: 80 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 09 invitations 190 minimum Matrix score: 115 (Accountants: 120) ACT 491 nomination: 71 invitations 491 minimum Matrix score: 70 (Accountants: 110) Remaining Allocations ACT 491 nomination: 1164 places ACT 190 nomination: 492 places Invitations were not issued if the applicants have an active application in the system or have previously received ACT nomination. The next Canberra Matrix invitation round will be held before 16 September 2021.
On 05 September 2021, the Department of Home Affairs have released a statement regarding Partner visa processing in the program years 2020-21 and 2021-22. In these program years, the partner visa has 72,300 places for each year, constituting 94% of the Family stream program, much higher compared to the previous average of around 80% as well as just 39,799 places for Partners in 2019-20. The Department stated, “This increase is designed to provide greater certainty to Australians and their immediate family members during the COVID-19 pandemic, and contribute to addressing processing times for Partner visa applications.” It was further provided that the Family stream visa places constituted approximately 50% of the total Migration Program ceiling in the last two years, ensuring more visas are delivered in this stream to support family migration in Australia. The Department also mentions that “more Partner visa places have been delivered in 2020-21 than in any program year in at least 25 years.”
The Department of Home Affairs have released information under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing number of inward travel exemptions approved by the Australian Border Force (ABF) between 01 August 2020 and 08 May 2021 categorised on the basis of the visa subclass of the traveller. During this period, the ABF has approved a total of 33,176 request for inbound exemption to travel to Australia. The details of the visa subclass held by the travellers is provided below: Visa Subclass Number of Exemptions Granted Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) 9,080 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa (subclass 400) 4,989 Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408) 1,714 Student visa (subclass 500) 1,699 Visitor visa (subclass 600) 1,612 eVisitor visa (subclass 651) 694 Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) 486 Training visa (subclass 407) 483 Medicial Treatment visa (subclass 602) 448 Other visas 3,488 Not recorded (secondary travellers or individuals who did not require, hold or applied for a visa) 8,483 Total 33,176 The Department has also released information that during this period, 430 inward travel requests were approved for Skilled Regional (Provisional) (subclass 489) visa holders and applicants. Further, the FOI provides a breakdown of the international movements between March 2020 and May 2021 and number of travellers based on the country of their citizenship. To access the full FOI, click here.
Recently Western Australia has announced changes to the State’s Skilled Migration Program 2021-22 to expand the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List (WASMOL) available for State nomination through the General stream to include a Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 list. The lists contains occupations that are considered a priority for the State and on 27 August 2021, the occupation of Arborist (ANZSCO: 362212) has been added to Schedule 2 list. The WASMOL is available to applicants who intend to use the General Stream WASMOL Schedule 1 or the General Stream WASMOL Schedule 2 for Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) or Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) nominations. According to the updated requirements, an applicant who intends to use the General Stream WASMOL Schedule 2 must: Meet the visa criteria for the intended visa subclass, Have a full time employment contract for at least 12 months in Western Australia in the nominated occupation or in closely related occupation, and Meet the minimum English requirements for the chosen occupation. To access the full occupations list, click here.