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First Round of Invitations for Skilled Visas It is expected that applicants who have submitted their EOI (Expression of Interest) for a 189 Visa (Skilled Independent) or the 489 Visa (Skilled Regional Provisional) will receive an invitation these days as the next invitation round was anticipated to start on 11 July 2018. Looking back at previous invitations rounds starting in a new migration year (after July 1st each year) have generally seen a higher volume of invitations. While the minimum pass marked was increased to 65 points on July 1, many invitations in previous invitation rounds were issued to applicants with about 70 – 75 points even. Those with higher points will be invited to apply for the visa first. Applicants with the same score will receive their invitations based on the time they reached their score for the visa. The latest invitation round results currently officially published on the Department of Home Affairs’ website are those from 20 June 2018. You might also be interested in: SkillSelect – From EOI to Invitation New Visa – Global Talent Scheme Migrants now need more points for skilled migration to Australia Victoria welcomes skilled visa applications Contact Us

The State of Victoria has started accepting 190 visa and 189 visa applications again. Find more information on the 190 Visa for State Nomination and the Occupations that are eligible to apply for visa nomination by the state of Victoria More information on subclass 189 Visa (Skilled Independent) is available here. If your occupation is in ICT, nursing or engineering & building occupations you will have to apply through a different application process: Check if you meet the criteria for subclass 190 visa and the minimum requirements for nomination by the state of Victoria Submit an EOI in Skillselect. Find out how this works here. Check your email inbox to see if you have been chosen by the State of Victoria. Submit an online application for Victorian visa nomination within 14 days after having received the invitation via e-mail. If you are nominated, you will get an invitation in SkillSelect to apply for subclass 190 visa for Victoria. Lodge your visa application within 60 days after having been nominated by Victoria.   Use the form below to get in touch with us!

As expected, the vast majority of visa fees will be increased starting July 1st, 2018. Here are some of the most popular visa subclasses and their increase: If you need more information on any of those visa subclasses, simply contact us. We’d love to hear from you. You can find information on the main visa subclasses here.  

It is important to stay up to date with the continuous changes in the immigration world and the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. Don’t feel overwhelmed by the immigration and its challenges, contact us and we can do it for you! These are some of the recent changes applicable from the 1st of July 2018 through a legislative instrument that have amended the Partner, Parent, Skilled visas and also a few charges and fees. Skilled visa changes  Age for partner points in Skilled Migration is now to be under the age of 45 years old (was previously under 50) and applies to 189 subclass 190 subclass 489 subclass Parent and Partner visa changes Allows the Minister to make a legislative instrument specifying the form, manner, and place for making a valid application for Parent and Partner The amendments enable greater efficiency and flexibility for making administrative changes to application requirements. Charges and Fees  The increase in credit card surcharges to 1.32% which allows the Department to recover a greater proportion of the cost of merchant fees, (the previous surcharge rate was 0.98%).  The Citizenship Regulation sets out, amongst other things, in which foreign currencies and countries a citizenship application fee may be paid and how the exchange rate is to be calculated, with several instruments in force on July 1st A conversion legislative instrument IMMI 18/063 (regarding payment of visa application charges and fees in foreign countries). A place and currencies legislative instrument IMMI 18/064 (regarding the places and currencies of fees paid). These changes may not be applicable to your visa but to make sure you will not be affected contact us today for more information.   Check what visa you may be eligible for by taking our free assessment! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to keep updated on migration to Australia

South Australia Immigration have revised their requirements for accessing the work experience waiver for international graduates of SA. SA graduates will now be required to have worked for the last 3 months in a skilled occupation at the time of their skilled migration application. (This is to update the previous rule of 1 year of skilled work experience in the past 3 years leading up to the skilled migration application). This has been the work of South Australia Immigration to enable their case officers to collect appropriate evidence to verify the applicant’s current employment in the state and to also ensure that the employment outcomes are good occurrences and genuine positions. Some occupations may have additional work experience requirements of up to 12 months before the application. You can check if your occupation is one of those by checking the occupation lists. This new change will apply to all applications made after the 28th of May 2018. Changes to chain migration pathways In about a month’s time, on the first of July 2018, the chain migration pathway will be offered only to Skilled Regional Provisional 489 Visa. South Australia wants to ensure that migrants are settling in the state of South Australia and not using this as a pathway to settle in other Australian states. This means that family members living in SA will need to show that they have been a resident of South Australia for a minimum of 24 months, as opposed to the previous 12 months. How could this affect you? Contact one of our friendly consultants to find out more today!