The Department of Home Affairs have released information on 11 September 2020 under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing statistics of inbound and outbound travel exemptions from the period between 20 March 2020 and 20 August 2020. During this period, the Commissioner of Australian Border Force (ABF) has approved 15,801 inbound exemption requests and 36,426 outbound exemption requests during the travel restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Department has also released information that 4,627 inward exemption requests have been approved by the ABF Commissioner between 01 August 2020 and 20 August 2020.
Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Act 2020 (No. 88, 2020) [“the Act”] amends the provisions under Australian Citizenship Act 2007 regarding Citizenship renunciation and revocation and Citizenship cessation determinations. It also amends relevant provisions under Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Act 2010, and Intelligence Services Act 2001. The Act primarily focuses on Citizenship cessation determinations and has inserted new provisions regarding Citizenship cessation determination for certain conduct, declared terrorist organisation, Citizenship cessation determination for certain convictions, public interest in making or revoking citizenship cessation determinations, notice of citizenship cessation, determination that notice of citizenship cessation should not be given, revocation of citizenship cessation determination on application to Minister, revocation of citizenship cessation determination on Minister’s initiative, automatic revocation of citizenship cessation determination, no resumption of citizenship if citizenship ceases under the above provisions. The Act has received the Royal assent on 17 September 2020 and according to Section 2 of the Act, it is in effect from 18 September 2020. To access the full Act, click here.
Migration Amendment (COVID-19 Concessions) Regulations 2020 dated 17 September 2020 [“the Regulations”] amend the Migration Regulations 1994 to provide assistance to temporary and provisional visa holders, who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to travel restrictions or restrictions imposed on businesses. The Regulations defines a concession period, termed as ‘the initial concession period’ commencing from 01 February 2020. The Regulations amend provisions regarding Subclass 887 (Skilled—Regional) visas, Subclass 888 (Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent)) visas, Subclass 790 (Safe Haven Enterprise) visas, and Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visas, along with certain transitional provisions. According to Section 2 of the Regulations, they come into effect from 19 September 2020, i.e., the day after their registration in the Federal Register of Legislation. To access the full Regulations, click here.
On 17 September, which is also Australian Citizenship Day, The Hon Alan Tudge MP, the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Australian Government has announced that the Australian citizenship test will be updated to emphasize more on Australian values in addition to core facts and figures. The Hon Alan Tudge MP said that, “Our Australian values are important. They have helped shape our country and they are the reason why so many people want to become Australian citizens… We are asking those who apply for citizenship to understand our values more deeply before they make the ultimate commitment to our nation” The updated test will include 5 questions on Australian values amongst the 20 multiple-choice questions. In order to pass the test, the applicant will have to correctly answer all 5 of the questions on Australian values, along with scoring a mark of at least 75 per cent overall in the test. The new test is expected to be in effect from 15 November 2020. The Minister has also announced that new applicants for most visas, along with the citizenship applicants will be required to affirm the updated Australian Values Statement (AVS) from 30 October 2020 onwards. However, no changes have been announced to the English language requirements or residency requirements for citizenship.
Canberra Matrix open to Canberra residents only. 457 visa / 482 visa holders: 12 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 6 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 6 invitations Matrix nominating Critical occupations: 140 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 76 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 64 invitations Invitations were not issued for an occupation if the monthly cap was met. The next Canberra Matrix invitation round will be held on or before 25 September 2020.
Canberra Matrix open to Canberra residents only. 10 invitations issued to 457 visa / 482 visa holders. 147 invitations issued to Matrix nominating Critical occupations. List of occupations for the Invitation Round is as below: Advertising, Public Relations & Sales Finance Managers Construction Managers ICT Managers Other Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers Journalists and other writers Accountants Financial Investment Adv. Human Resource Prof. Advertising & Marketing Prof. Public Relations Professionals Architects & Landscape Arch. Graphic, Web Designers & Illustrators Civil Engineering Professionals Early Childhood (Pre-prim.) Teachers Occupational Therapists G P and Resident Medical Officers Registered Nurses ICT Business & Syst. Analysts Software and Applications Prog. Database and Systems Administrator Computer Network Professionals ICT Support & Test Engineers Solicitors Psychologists Social Professionals Social Workers Welfare, Recreation and Comm. Arts
The Department of Home Affairs’ website provides that at home English language test results, including TOEFL iBT – Special Home Edition, OET@Home and IELTS Indicator, are not acceptable for migration purposes for student visas, skilled visas, and some permanent visas. Different visas require different level of competencies in English to be eligible to apply. The accepted tests are: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) Occupational English Test (OET) Cambridge C1 Advanced test
Australian Government is offering financial assistance to citizens and eligible permanent residents who are stranded overseas due to Covid-19 travel restrictions and are experiencing financial distress. The assistance is in the following forms: One-off loan to help cover emergency living costs until a commercial flight becomes available, where the loan amount is fixed based on the family size. Australian pension holder may be eligible to receive a grant instead of a loan. One-off loan to help cover part of the cost of a flight back to Australia, where the loan amount is equivalent to a standard one-way economy class airfare from that region. The Government has advised that loans are available as an option of last resort only and strict eligibility criteria applies. To know more about the financial assistance and application process, click here.
The Department of Home Affairs’ interim allocation of Subclasses 491, 190, 188 and 132 visa nomination under General Skilled Migration and Business Migration program for the financial year 2020-2021 has given limited number of visa nominations to the States until the delivery of the Federal Budget in October. For Subclass 491 and Subclass 190 applications lodged before 1pm (AEST), Tuesday 25th August 2020, Migration Tasmania will continue to assess the existing applications according to the priorities established by the Department of Home Affairs. For all new applications lodged after this time period, the applicant must also demonstrate that the applicant is critical to supporting Tasmania’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery. Further, for Subclass 491, 3A Overseas Applicant (TSOL) nomination category restrictions remain in place in Tasmania and only the 17 occupations listed in the ‘High Demand’ section of the Tasmanian Skilled Occupation List (TSOL) are eligible for nomination. The applications lodged for occupations that are not listed as ‘High Demand’ remain closed. To see the list of ‘High Demand’ occupations, click here. The State will review the requirements after the Federal Budget, after the announcement of full details of the 2020-21 nomination allocations and requirements. For Subclass 188 and 132 visa nomination applications, the State is waiting for reopening of Business Migration program and indicates that the new business nominations must be of high quality to support Australia’s COVID-19 recovery.
On 17 September, which is also Australian Citizenship Day, The Hon Alan Tudge MP, the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Australian Government has announced that the Australian citizenship test will be updated to emphasize more on Australian values in addition to core facts and figures. The Hon Alan Tudge MP said that, “Our Australian values are important. They have helped shape our country and they are the reason why so many people want to become Australian citizens… We are asking those who apply for citizenship to understand our values more deeply before they make the ultimate commitment to our nation” The updated test will include 5 questions on Australian values amongst the 20 multiple-choice questions. In order to pass the test, the applicant will have to correctly answer all 5 of the questions on Australian values, along with scoring a mark of at least 75 per cent overall in the test. The new test is expected to be in effect from 15 November 2020. The Minister has also announced that new applicants for most visas, along with the citizenship applicants will be required to affirm the updated Australian Values Statement (AVS) from 30 October 2020 onwards. However, no changes have been announced to the English language requirements or residency requirements for citizenship.