Premium

"Under the new program, highly skilled migrants in selected industries will receive a fasttracked process to permanent residency in Australia. Applicants will have a dedicated Home Affairs contact to guide them through the process, and applications will receive the highest priority processing. Applicants will be eligible for permanent residency if they are likely to earn more than ..."

There are cases where a person applies for a PR visa while overseas and becomes pregnant before grant. In some of those cases, the applicant is determined to give birth overseas in order to obtain family support and the baby will not become an Australian citizen by birth. Further, the mother runs the risk of the baby being born without a visa and having to apply for a costly and lengthy child visa. We explain how practitioners can minimise that risk.

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 specifies ... that holders of the new [regional visas] are eligible for approved English courses through the AMEP"

The new instrument specifies the pool and pass marks for the following visa subclasses: 491, 189 and 190

The new instrument specifies the occupations for subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visas. Special requirements apply to some of the occupations, as we explain in this article.

The new instrument specifies exempt occupations for the following visa subclasses: 482 (TSS), 457, 186, 187 and 494

The new instrument specifies the approved form and the place and manner in which applications must be lodged for the following visa subclasses: 189, 190, 485, 476, 489, 491 and 887.

"The purpose of the instrument is to implement changes ... which, among other things, will introduce the Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visa (Subclass 491) and close the Subclass 489 visa to applicants in the First Provisional Visa stream". The assessing authorities for some occupations vary depending on the date of the assessment, as we explain in this article.

"The instrument operates to specify exemptions in relation to age, skills, employment history or English language requirements for the Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) visa (Subclass 186), Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa (Subclass 187) and Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa (Subclass 494)".