Invitation date: 14 April 2020 ACT 190 Nomination – Invitations Issued: 62 All Matrix submitted: 120 to 75 points 70 point Matrix submitted on or before 31 December 2019 ACT 491 Nomination – Invitations Issued: 78 All Matrix submitted: 100 to 70 points 65 point Matrix submitted on or before 09 March 2020 All matrix expire 6 months after submission date if an invitation is not issued. The next invitation round is scheduled to be held by 30 April 2020.
Skilled Migration Visa holders who are unable to travel to Australia due to border closure and other travel restrictions in response to Covid-19 may not get their visas cancelled for breach of condition 8504 alone. Condition 8504 on skilled and business visas requires that the offshore visa holders must enter Australia before a specified date for the visa be active. Generally, a breach of visa condition may result in cancellation of the visa itself by the Department. However, South Australian Government will not seek to cancel a granted Skilled Visa on the grounds of breach of Condition 8504 where breach was related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The visa Subclasses covered under this arrangement are Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189), Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190), Skilled Regional visa (Subclass 489), Skilled Work Regional visa (Subclass 491). Visa holders of Business visas and Distinguished Talent visas who are unable to travel to Australia and meet requirement of Condition 8504 must contact business.skills.adelaide@homeaffairs.gov.au to receive further information.
The Australian Government is funding the Red Cross for the next 6 months to support temporary visa holders in Australia with urgent and essential needs like food and medicine as emergency relief payments. To be eligible to claim the relief, the person must be a temporary visa holders in Australia who is facing severe financial hardship and without access to Centrelink, Medicare or other Government services. Red Cross will decide on the eligibility for receiving the services and may give preference to people with most urgent needs first.
Most States pause nominations for Business Innovation and Investment Visa (Subclass 132 and 188) programs for FY 2019-2020 and accordingly are not accepting any new nomination application till 30 June 2020. In Victoria, no applications, including any draft applications not submitted, are being accepted from 09 April 2020, 12pm AEST onwards. Further, any draft applications which is not submitted will be removed and made inaccessible and the applicants will have to start afresh. In Queensland, the BMSQ (Business and Skilled Migration Queensland) Business Program applications were suspended on 02 January 2020. The State Departments will continue to process the applications received prior to respective dates. Further, they continues to accept nominations for Business Innovation – Extension only (Subclass 188A Extension), Significant Investor – Extension only (Subclass 188C Extension), Permanent Business Innovation (Subclass 888A), Permanent Investor (Subclass 888B), and Permanent Significant Investor (Subclass 888C). Business Innovation and Investment Visa Programs are still open for applications in Tasmania, Western Australia and Northern Territory.
According to the Department, 300,000 temporary migrants have left Australia since the beginning of the year due to Covid-19. Moreover, the Government is expecting this number to “double by the end of the year”. Acting Minister, Alan Tudge clarified that most of the temporary visa holders who left Australia were actually international tourists on visitor visas. Usually, this number is not as stark as there is balance maintained by tourists entering and exiting Australia. However, due to border closures and other travel restrictions in response to Covid-19, no temporary visa holders are allowed to enter Australia.
The Hon Alan Tudge MP, current acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs clarifies that various temporary visa category holders are targeted differently in terms of support they receive from the Government such as by relaxing certain visa conditions, extending the limit of working hours and early access to superannuation funds. The Government’s message “to go home” aimed at visitor visa holders who are able to go back to their home country. In cases where that is not possible from them to return for reasons such as the country is under complete locked down in response to Covid-19, the Department may extend their tourist visas to let them stay lawfully in Australia for the time being. He said, “As I said, for those tourists who’re here, whose visas are due to expire, who are concerned that they cannot get home, then they should contact the Immigration Department as a matter of urgency.”
Migration (LIN 19/211: Arrangements for Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa Applications) Instrument 2019 [“the Instrument”] amended vide the Migration (LIN 20/101: Arrangements for certain visa applications) Amendment Instrument 2020 [“the Amendment”] dated 11 March 2020 is registered on 14 April 2020. The Instrument provides form and manner of making Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 494) visa applications and circumstances under which skills declaration is not required in relation to lodging a visa application. The date of commencement of the Instrument, as amended, is 14 March 2020.
The Migration (LIN 19/209: Arrangements for Certain Skilled and Temporary Graduate Visa Applications) Instrument 2019 [“the Instrument”] amended vide the Migration (LIN 20/101: Arrangements for certain visa applications) Amendment Instrument 2020 dated 11 March 2020 is registered on 14 April 2020. The Instrument provides form, place and manner for making an application Skilled and Temporary Graduate Visas requiring most visa applications to be made as an internet application. The date of commencement of the Instrument, as amended, is 14 March 2020. Visas Subclasses covered under the Instrument are Subclass 887 (Skilled Regional) visa, Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) visa, Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated) visa, Subclass 476 (Skilled Recognised Graduate) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa, Subclass 489 (Skilled Regional (Provisional)) visa, Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visa. The Amendment specifies that Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visa application made by secondary applicants must also be an internet application even in cases where the application is not lodged at the same time as the primary applicant.
Invitation date: 3 April 2020 ACT 190 Nomination – Invitations Issued: 94 All Matrix submitted: 95 to 75 points 70 point Matrix submitted on or before 31 December 2019 ACT 491 Nomination – Invitations Issued: 83 All Matrix submitted: 125 to 70 65 point Matrix submitted on or before 2 March 2020
In Queensland, bridging visa holders hit by Section 48 bar will not be nominated by the BMSQ (Business and Skilled Migration Queensland) for Subclass 491 visa even though they have been invited to lodge documents for visa application. Accordingly, the applicants are requested to withdraw their visa applications. The 491 applicants who are on bridging visa and had a visa refused or cancelled must notify BMSQ of such refusals or cancellations if they have received invitation to lodge the visa application. Under these circumstances, the applicant is probably hit by Section 48 bar and accordingly is not eligible to lodge their state nominated visa application from Australia. Usually, the applicants would leave Australia to lodge their visa application from outside Australia and then return to Australia. However, due to current travel restrictions during Covid-19 pandemic, it is not possible for applicants who are temporary visa holders to return to Australia for the time being. Thus, they are not eligible to lodge the visa application. If they wish to apply for 491 visa, they may submit an Expression of Interest again if they continue to meet the regional criteria.