Immigration to Australia: Is it still an option for Students and Prospective Migrants?

Dear Readers

On 8th February 2010, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans announced such major changes to Skilled Migration that it will change the entire landscape of the education and immigration industry. These changes are intended to remove the current rot that existed in the Skilled Migration program for a while, where people were virtually buying their way into Permanent Residence without having any of the skills they have nominated to get their Australian Residency. Whether the policies they are planning to implement will work or not in the long run, only time will say. But in the short run, it has created a lot of confusion, dissatisfaction and hopelessness among many students and prospective migrants.

I will endeavour to clear out some of these confusions and describe what options still are available or not available.

ENS (Employer Nomination Scheme)

A lot of students are choosing this option for Permanent Residence without even realising they may not be eligible for it. They may be working in their nominated occupation and the employer may also be happy enough with them, to sponsor them. But unfortunately with the removal of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) list, most of these employees will not be able to meet the three years full time work experience requirement, unless their nominated occupation is in the Critical Skills List (CSL). Depending on what’s in the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) to be announced in April 2010, and how the ENS section of DIAC implements the new SOL for waiver options, the employer sponsored pathway for students working part-time in their nominated occupation will virtually be non-existent, unless the government comes up with a more sensible way of waiving the three years full time work experience requirement for students already employed in their nominated occupation. TRA Assessments

Old TRA (Trades Recognition Australia)

Assessments done or applied for, before 1st January 2010 are still valid for applying for the Subclass 485 Skilled Graduate Visa. These TRA Assessments will also be valid to apply for your Permanent Residence (PR), when the legislation is updated by March 2010 (i.e., first quarter of 2010). In other words, anyone who has a TRA Assessment done or applied for, before 1st January 2010, will not need to go through the TRA Job Ready Program (JRP). This will allow thousands of students to apply for Permanent Residence by 31st December 2012 even if their nominated occupation is not in the new SOL, as long as they held or applied for a Subclass 485 Skilled Graduate Visa and had not applied for a Provisional or Permanent GSM Visa, on or before 7th February 2010.

Cancellation of 20,000 Offshore Pre 1 September 2007 Visas

Around 20,000 Offshore Skilled Migration Applications filed before 1st September 2007 will “cease” and application fees will be refunded after the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship “caps” the number of visas that may be granted for that financial year. This seems very unfair to these applicants and also gives the Minister power to apply policy retrospectively. I believe it also damages Australia’s reputation in the long run. It is much better not to accept applications above a certain number in any financial year, rather than accepting them, making the applicants pay fees and other related expenses, have them wait for years, then suddenly cancel their applications as well as their dreams and hopes. It is not clear when this “capping” and “ceasing” of pre 1st September 2007 applications will occur, but an announcement is supposed to come in the near future.

Although the MODL list has been revoked on 8th February 2010, and the current SOL will cease to exist when the new SOL becomes effective from mid-2010, both the MODL and the current SOL will continue to exist for some

When children set up their own homes, parents are often left by themselves in a large dwelling. The trend in Australia is to sell one’s family home and to move into retirement villages as a couple or alone. Lots of Australians live alone and this increases with age as 75% of those above 65 years are currently living alone. The original migrant dream might well have been to be living in the vicinity of one’s children or even with them as one did in Indian towns. But this might prove impractical. Mainstream retirement villages might not be culturally suitable for Indian retirees.

ADVERTORIAL

By Syed M Kabir

applicants and students until 31st December 2012. The MODL list and the current SOL list will still apply to anyone who on 8th February 2010 (the day of the Minister’s announcement) held a Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485) visa, or have applied for a subclass 485 visa before 8th February 2010, and are yet to apply for a permanent or provisional General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa. The MODL list and the current SOL list will also continue to apply to anyone who have applied for a provisional or permanent GSM visa application before 8th February 2010.

Also, students who held any of the below mentioned visa subclasses on 8th February 2010, can still use the current SOL to apply for a for a Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485) visa, however these student visa holders will be required to have an occupation on the new SOL to apply for a permanent GSM visa.

• Vocational Education and Training Sector (subclass 572) visa

• Higher Education Sector (subclass 573) visa

• Postgraduate Research Sector (subclass 574) visa.

The government wants to totally clean up Skilled Migration and has so far taken a very bold conservative approach. Hopefully, we’ll end up somewhere in the middle.

Syed M. Kabir

Principal Migration Consultant

Kangaroo Immigration & Education Consultancy (MARN 0636144, MIA # 2446).

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