by Paul Cutler | Nov 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
Migration Legislation Amendment (2014 Measures No. 2) Regulation 2014 makes some welcome changes (amongst other things) to PIC 4020. The following extract from the Explanatory Memorandum sums it up quite well:
PIC 4020 is a ‘one fails, all fail’ criterion, whereby all applicants for a visa would not be granted a visa if a bogus document, or false or misleading information is provided by any of the applicants, or where any of the applicants fail to satisfy the delegate of their identity.
Amendments to PIC 4020
These changes will ensure that minors are not unfairly affected by the fraudulent actions of their parents or guardians by exempting them from the periods specified in PIC 4020(2) and (2B). The policy is based on the department’s view that a minor should not be penalised for the fraudulent actions of a parent/s or guardian/s.
This amendment applies both to minors who are onshore and those who are offshore at the time of application for a visa. Australia’s human rights obligations are engaged only in relation to persons within its territory and/or jurisdiction. As such, the analysis of the human rights implications of this amendment is relevant only to the extent that it applies to persons who seek to apply for a visa whilst onshore (that is, in Australia at the time of visa application). PIC 4020 applies to all skilled migration, student, business skills, family and temporary visas, but not to Refugee and Humanitarian visas. In respect of people already onshore, Articles 3 and Articles 16(1) of the CRC may be relevant.
Creative commons acknowledgement for the photograph.
by Paul Cutler | Oct 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
The Government today announced important changes to the Significant Investor Visa and creation of a Premium Investor visa.
The new Premium Investor Visa (PIV) will require an investment of $15 million, nomination by Austrade and has no residency requirements. PIV holders will be eligible for permanent residency after holding the complying investment for 12 months.
Other changes include:
- the involvement of Austrade in the nomination of applicants on behalf of the Australian Government and in determining complying investment policy
- allowing ‘role swapping’ between primary and secondary applicants during the provisional visa stage
- introduction of 180 day residency requirements for secondary visa holders
- changes to improve visa processing times
Thanks to the MIA for providing the above information to me today in its email to members. There is more information on the new visa at the following link.
Creative commons acknowledgment for the photograph.
by Paul Cutler | Oct 4, 2014 | Parents, Visa
The DIBP website is reporting extensive queues for the other family (i.e. non-contributory parents, carers, remaining relative) visas:
- Non-Contributory Parent visa – approximately 30 years
- Carer visa – approximately 4.5 years
- Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative – approximately 56 years
These visas were abolished but have been reinstated (probably for 6 months) following a successful disallowance motion in the Senate on 25 September 2014.
Needless to say these waiting times generally make the application futile. There will be some very elderly people granted visas, if they survive the wait in the queue!
Creative commons acknowledgement for the photograph.
by Paul Cutler | Sep 10, 2014 | 457, Visa
Today (10 September 2014), the review report, Robust New Foundations: A Streamlined, Transparent and Responsive System for the 457 Programme, was released and is available on the Department of Immigration
and Border Protection’s website.
There are 22 recommendations made (and in time we will see which are adopted), but the report identified the core questions as:
“…Our view is that an overarching principle of the 457 programme must be credibility – so as to ensure its continued success, the 457 programme must have legitimacy in the eyes of the Australian public as something that benefits Australia rather than does harm. The 457 programme will only be able to attain this necessary credibility when the Australian public can clearly see that policy problems are being resolved by robust evidenced based solutions.
There are two policy issues that we consider to be core questions in the existing 457 programme, as they directly address one of the two objectives. These are: proving that the position cannot be filled by a local worker and determining the skilled occupations that are used for the programme. It is our considered view that these issues are not well served by the current policy approaches and can be improved by adopting a more robust evidence- based approach”
by Paul Cutler | Aug 31, 2014 | Visa
Australia and New Zealand are hosting the 2015 Cricket World Cup. To facilitate movements between the countries there has been a “two country, one visa” arrangement announced by Minister Michaelia. Visitors wanting to attend the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup to visit Australia and New Zealand between 26 January and 5 April 2015, will only require one visa. 
A new Trans-Tasman Visa Arrangement between Australia and New Zealand will only require visitors to apply and pay for an Australian visa. New Zealand will then also grant a visitor visa between those dates to those holding an Australian visa. This new arrangement is expected to substantially benefit the tourism sector in both countries, by making travel easier and less costly for fans.International visitors will still be expected to meet the respective health, security and character requirements for each country. Minister Cash’s full media release is available here. The Minister’s media release also contains a link for further information at www.immi.gov.au/cwc The text of this post is based on information provided by the MIA in their Notice 102 provided as a service to members.
