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Australian university offers up to $7,500 to students stranded in China by coronavirus travel ban
An Australian university is offering up to $7,500 in grants to students stranded in China due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus. The University of Melbourne has offered to reimburse expenses related to forfeited flights, accommodation and remote study workarounds by those students who have been affected by the Australian government’s continuing ban on entry to foreign nationals who have travelled through mainland China. The ban has been in force since 1 February and extended twice. It is due to expire on 29 February but is being reviewed weekly. Australian citizens and permanent residents are exempt from the ban. The University of Melbourne is the third Australian university to offer financial assistance to stranded students. The University of Adelaide emailed its affected students last week to offer “care packages” including discounted fees and a financial contribution towards air fares of up to $2,000. It also offered to completely refund semester fees to any student who couldn’t make it onto campus by the end of semester due to the outbreak. On Friday, Western Sydney University announced it was “encouraging its students – who are currently offshore, and impacted by travel restrictions – to consider the option of travelling to Australia via another country” and that...
2020.02.28 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 24
New regional visa: No permanent residency for those who can’t prove their stay in regional Australia
Immigration Minister David Coleman has confirmed the government will be scrutinising the regional visa holder’s bank details, residential details while assessing their permanent residency application. Immigration Minister David Coleman has confirmed the new regional visas which come with a pathway for permanent residency will need migrants to prove their stay in regional Australia. Two new skilled regional visas, being introduced in November which requires skilled migrants to live and work in regional Australia, will come with a pathway to apply for permanent residency after the visa holder has spent three years in the region. While the specific details of the new visas are yet to be revealed by the Department of Home Affairs, the Immigration Minister has confirmed the government will be closely scrutinising the visa holder’s personal details while assessing their permanent residency application. “When they apply after the three years, they’ll need to demonstrate through their bank details, through their payment details, residential details, all those things, that they have in fact stayed for three years,” Mr Coleman said in an interview to 2GB radio. “One of the key reasons that migrants want to come to Australia is the promise of permanent residency, and unless those people can prove...
2019.10.02 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 136
'Feeling edged out': Australia’s permanent visa grants drop to lowest in 11 years
A total of 160,323 permanent visas were granted during the last financial year - lowest since 2008. The government says its focus is now on regional migration. Australia’s annual permanent migration intake fell to the lowest level in over a decade as the government’s focus shifts towards settling more migrants in regional Australia. A total of 160,323 permanent visas were granted in 2018-19, while the migration planning level cap remained 190,000. The intake is the lowest since 2008 when under 159,000 visas were issued. Earlier this year, the government cut the annual migration cap by 30,000 to maintain the intake at 160,000 for the next four years. Immigration Minister David Coleman said the government’s push is now on regional migration. “Our population plan will ease the pressure on the big capitals while supporting the growth of those smaller cities and regions that want more people,” Mr Coleman said. “This year, we’ve reduced the cap for the Migration Program from 190,000 to 160,000. “We’re also dedicating 23,000 places for regional skilled migrants and have announced two new regional visas to help fill some of the tens of thousands of job vacancies in regional Australia." We’re directing migration to those smaller cities...
2019.09.18 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 362
‘Tough to get permanent residency’, as Australia's migrant intake falls to decade-low
It has become tougher to get permanent residency as Australia cuts down the migrant intake and moves towards sending more migrants to regional areas. It is getting tougher to acquire Australia’s permanent residency compared to three years ago suggests migration expert as Australia records its lowest migrant intake in a decade. The latest figures released by government indicate the number of permanent residency visas granted in 2018-19 was the lowest in a decade with only 160,323 visas (ceiling of 190,000) granted under the Permanent Migration Program. The data also reveals there was a significant increase in the number of visas granted to those in regional areas, in sync with the government’s plans to send more migrants to regional areas. Within the skilled stream, the general skilled migration (where the skilled worker can live and work anywhere in Australia) saw a decline whereas those granted visas under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (where the employer sponsors the skilled worker to live and work permanently in regional Australia) saw a 44 per cent increase. Compared to 68,111 visas granted under the general skilled migration in 2017-18, only 60,240 visas were in 2018-19, accounting for 7871 fewer visas. On the contrary, 8987 visas were granted...
2019.09.09 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 119
Immigration minister to focus on regional migration, international students
David Coleman MP has said the "more skilled, the better" when it comes to Australia's migration intake during a speech in Sydney. Immigration Minister David Coleman has announced he will maintain a sharp focus on international students, skilled migrants and increasing migration to regional Australia under the Morrison government. Speaking at the Sydney Institute for the first time on Tuesday evening, Mr Coleman said immigration had been "absolutely fundamental" to Australia's success as a nation but it needed to be approached with "clear eyes". In order to maximise the return on Australia's immigration intake, the minister said he would be focusing on international students and skilled migrants while encouraging people moving from overseas to live and work in regional areas. “It stands to reason that the more skilled a migrant is, the better,” he said. "When you strip down the ups and downs of the economic cycle, productivity is the thing that really matters. When you get more from your inputs, whatever they are, you create the wealth that leads to sustained increases in living standards." In the 2019-20 year, the cap on Australia's annual migration intake has been reduced from 190,000 to 160,000, with skilled migration accounting for approximately...
2019.08.23 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 141
Why can’t regional Australia attract overseas migrants?
A parliamentary inquiry will examine why regional Australia has attracted less than 20 per cent of overseas arrivals. Concerns about regional Australia's failure to attract more migrants to settle outside of major cities has sparked a parliamentary inquiry. The joint standing committee on migration will examine migrant settlement strategies and migrations settings in regional Australia. Committee chair Julian Leeser said 187,000 international migrants settled in regional areas between 2006 and 2011 which equated to one in five of the total number of arrivals in that period. "What we know is that some areas of Australia are having success attracting new migrants, while other areas are struggling to both attract and retain migrants and address skill shortages," Mr Leeser said. The Liberal MP said the committee would travel across the country to find out what can be done to increase the number of migrants moving to regional areas. "The answers to how to attract new settlers won’t be found in our big cities – so we’re going to travel to areas there migration settlement is and isn’t working, and talk to the people best placed to know why and why not," Mr Leeser said. The launch of the inquiry follows the release of...
2019.08.20 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 123
Single Australian-visa hopefuls are eagerly awaiting the new points system
The point system for Australian visa will change from November this year. The new point system offers extra points to singles. Many singles are looking forward to this change. S. Vijay Kumar is ready to file his application for Australian Permanent Residency visa. A film editor by profession, Kumar has got his educational qualification assessed by VETASSESS, Australia's leading vocational education and training (VET) skills assessment provider. But he is going to wait till November. "Everything is set, but I am waiting for November. I will get extra 10 points for being single, and that will increase my score," says Kumar. A student at Macquarie University, Vijay Kumar is one of the many applicants who are looking forward to the 10-point-rule that will come into effect from November 2019. In April this year, the immigration department announced some changes to the point system. These changes will come in effect from 16 November 2019. According to the new rule, applicants who do not have a spouse or de facto partner will get 10 points. "Points are awarded for attributes that are linked with the applicant's ability to make the greatest economic contribution, as the key purpose of the skilled migration program...
2019.08.16 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 145
South Australia approves 498 occupations for 2019-20
South Australia has published the list of state nominated occupations for the new financial year's general skilled migration program. The program opened on July 3 with a total of 275 occupations available for applicants residing offshore or in South Australia. “An additional 223 occupations are available on the Supplementary Skilled List (SSL). SSL occupations are available to four categories of applicants who have demonstrated a strong commitment to South Australia or are high calibre applicants,” the Immigration South Australia said. The four categories mentioned above include: International graduates of South Australia Skilled applicants who have worked in the State for the last 12 months Applicants who have an immediate family member permanently residing in South Australia for 24 months or more. An applicant with high points. If an applicant has 80 points (including state nomination points) on the Department of Home Affairs points test, he or she may be able to access additional occupations. According to the department, this category enables the State to continue to attract high calibre applicants (high levels of English, considerable work experience and higher qualification levels). The points requirement for the ICT occupations (with an ACS skills assessment) has been increased. The applicants for ICT occupations are...
2019.08.13 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 168
Want to migrate to Australia? Occupation ceilings for the 2019-20 announced
Occupations ceiling ensure that the skilled migration program is not dominated by a small number of occupations.  Each year thousands of migrants apply for Australia’s Skilled Migration program based on the occupations listed in the Skilled Occupations List (SOL). This list currently has more than 200 occupations listed on the Skilled Occupations List and is updated regularly by the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA). But there’s a limit to the number of ‘Expression of Interest’ (EOI) or invites issued from an occupation group. This limit is called occupation ceilings. ‘Occupations ceiling ensure that the skilled migration program is not dominated by a small number of occupations,’ the DoHA explains. ‘Once this limit is reached, no further invitations for that particular occupation group will be issued for that program year. ‘Invitations will then be allocated to intending migrants in other occupation groups even if they are lower ranking.’ 'Ceilings should not be mistaken for the number of places on offer' According to Melbourne-based registered MARA agent, Rohit Mohan, occupation ceilings play an important role in giving an insight into which occupations are in more demand. "If you look at the occupation ceiling released by the department, you will see some occupations have...
2019.08.09 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 183
Plans to tighten character test put tens of thousands of migrants at risk of deportation
Tens of thousands of migrants could have their visa cancelled under proposed laws to tighten the character test. A government proposal to tighten the character test will make it easier to deport up to tens of thousands of migrants, including more New Zealanders who have been living in Australia long term. Under the planned changes, visa-holders who have committed a crime that carries a maximum sentence of at least two years, such as common assault, will automatically fail the character test, even if they are not sentenced to jail. The legislation, introduced by Immigration Minister David Coleman last month, is a further strengthening of the test which was changed in 2014 to allow the government to deport non-citizens sentenced to at least 12 months jail for their crime. That change has resulted in more than 1,000 Kiwis being sent back between 2016 and 2018, something Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly said is having a "corrosive" impact on the relationship. Migration researcher and former Labor policy advisor, Henry Sherrell said the latest proposal was a significant escalation and would put up to tens of thousands of people at risk of deportation who are unlikely to be a threat to the community....
2019.08.06 ㆍ Votes 0 ㆍ Views 169
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