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From 1 July 2020, credit card surcharges relating to visa and citizenship applications will be increased, as detailed in this update. It is important to know the precise amount of charges and fees to be paid by clients in order to comply with cl 2.20(a) of the Code, which reads as follows: A registered migration agent must ... find out the correct amount of any visa application charge and all other fees or charges required to be paid for a client’s visa application...

The purpose of this instrument is to specify eVisitor eligible passports for visa subclass 651 and any conditions that must be satisfied

"The instrument specifies requirements to make a request for the Minister to prioritise the consideration of a valid application for a visa.  On a request made in accordance with regulation 2.12M of the Regulations, in relation to a valid application for a visa, the Minister may prioritise the consideration of the application."

The new regulations "introduce a requirement that to make a valid application for a Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) visa, applicants who hold a passport issued by a specified foreign country must have been..."

The new instrument specifies the assessing authorities for the new subclass 494 (regional) visa. For some occupations, the assessing authorities will depend on the date of the assessment, as we explain in this article.

'The instrument differs from the repealed instrument by clarifying that the form for applying for approval as a family sponsor, Form 1501, is an internet form; and by including a specification of the form and fee for making an application for variation of approval of terms as a parent sponsor'

If a child is born a non-citizen in Australia and, at the time of birth, one the parents holds a visa of a given subclass and the other parent holds a visa of another subclass, does the child "inherit" any of those 2 visas? If so, does the child inherit the most beneficial visa? Can the child "inherit" and hold both visas at the same time? Are there circumstances where the child will "inherit" no visa at all and will be born an unlawful non-citizen, despite the fact that the parents hold a visa? The answers might be surprising.

The new Certificate defers the sunsetting date of a legislative instrument "to enable the Department to evaluate the need for amendments to the family violence provisions, evaluate the need for any changes relating to the independent expert, and draft a new instrument, while avoiding having to remake the instrument twice in a short period of time"

The purpose of the new instrument is to "include an exemption for New Zealand citizens who are unable to meet the income threshold requirements for the 2020-21 income year due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic"

The new instruments raises the financial capacity requirements for students visas from 24 October 2019.