George Lombard

Senator Hanson-Young's disallowance motion against the Migration Amendment (Repeal of Certain Visa Classes) Regulation 2014, as contained in Select Legislative Instrument 2014 No. 65 [F2014L00622], made under the Migration Act 1958 was successful. The cessation of non-contributory parent and other family visas ​has been disallowed and these visas can now be lodged again.

Good news. Details to come....

Disallowance motion now scheduled for 11.50am today. If the matter has been predetermined then it will go through as a formal motion without a vote - most likely it will involve a vote, in which case there will be some debate. You can watch the fun by clicking on the "live" button on the Senate side of this website: http://www.aph.gov.au/ . The link to what's going on generally is http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Chamber_documents/Dynamic_Red . Good luck everyone. Cheers, George Lombard

Have just checked with the Senate. The matter is still in the queue and hasn't yet reached the point of being determined; it might reach consideration in the next hour, or be held over until tomorrow morning. Apparently Senate scheduling is a "dark art" :-) You can see from http://www.aph.gov.au/Home/Parliamentary%20Business/Dynamic%20Red what matters have been finalised today or held over. Cheers, George Lombard

Tomorrow the Australian Senate will vote on the disallowance motion concerning the abolition of the above four visa categories on 2 June. If the disallowance motion is successful, the Department has advised there will be a six month window to again lodge these applications. A new Regulation that has the same effect as a disallowed Regulation cannot be made within the six months following the disallowance. The Department has advised that If the disallowance motion is successful, then all the Parent and Other Family visa categories will be open to applications from that moment. Paper applications for these visas could be accepted tomorrow, however, they would not be receipted immediately, because it will take 24 hours to bring those systems back online. Personally I think the Department is taking a very responsible line to allow these visa categories to run for six months if the disallowance is successful. Fingers crossed, everyone. If anyone wants to lobby the Senate crossbench, now would be the time :-) Cheers, George Lombard

The government has announced that three occupations are being added to the Skilled Occupation List, Chefs, Tilers and Bricklayers, and none are being removed. This announcement means that these three occupations can now be the subject of a points tested skilled occupation without needing state sponsorship. Not needing state sponsorship also means losing state sponsorship points, so good luck with your IELTS tests guys. Source: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/mc/2014/mc215271.htm Cheers, George Lombard

Thanks Alan, In fact the explanatory memorandum is quite chilling: In particular, the Regulation amends the Principal Regulations to: repeal the Aged Dependent Relative visa classes and subclasses. These visa categories cater for a person who is single, meets the aged requirements and both is, and has for a reasonable period been, financially dependent on their Australian relative; repeal the Remaining Relative visa classes and subclasses. These visa categories cater for a person whose only near relatives are those usually resident in Australia; repeal the Carer visa classes and subclasses. These visa categories cater for a person to care for a relative in Australia with a long-term or permanent medical condition or for a person to assist a relative providing care to a member of their family unit with a long-term or permanent medical condition; repeal the Parent and Aged Parent visa classes and subclasses. These visa categories cater for a person who is the parent of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and where the parent does not pay a significant financial contribution towards their own future health, welfare and other costs in Australia. With effect from 2 June. Cheers, George Lombard

Sorry for re-posting, I understand that many agents will not receive this information until later today; DIBP will not publicise this change today as it was announced post-budget without a timeline. Confirmation has come through today that the Department is ending eligibility for the carer, remaining relative, aged dependent relative and standard parent visa categories with effect from Monday. Given that these applications must all be paper lodged, this leaves very little time to make sure your application is lodged. Bear in mind that a faxed application - provided it includes appropriate payment - is still viable for the Other Family visa class, and at a pinch an offshore application can be lodged in any offshore office of the Department. Washington will still be available when others have closed. Onshore applications should be lodged in Perth, see http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/835.aspx for example. Good luck to all. Cheers, George Lombard

Confirmation has come through today that the Department is ending eligibility for the carer, remaining relative, aged dependent relative and standard parent visa categories with effect from Monday. Given that these applications must all be paper lodged, this leaves very little time to make sure your application is lodged. Bear in mind that a faxed application - provided it includes appropriate payment - is still viable for the Other Family visa class, and at a pinch an offshore application can be lodged in any offshore office of the Department. Washington will still be available when others have closed. Onshore applications should be lodged in Perth, see http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/835.aspx for example. Good luck to all. Cheers, George Lombard

The Department has confirmed to the Migration Institute of Australia that the Other Family (Aged Parent, Carer Visa and Aged Dependent Relative) and non-contributory Parent Visa will be ceasing very soon. It seems clear that the visas are unlikely to last until 30 June as has been the practice with most post-Budget visa category closures. This is of course very sad news for many families and represents a special incentive to get any application lodged as soon as possible. Regards, George Lombard

Update from the ACT - three and a half hours to go: Further clarification to the announcement below, the closure of the ACT 190 nomination program will only affect overseas clients seeking to lodge applications after COB today. Applications for ACT nomination already submitted before COB today will still be processed in queue order. Please note, the processing time for applications lodged in late February onwards is likely to be 4 to 6 months, due to the large number of applications received prior to the publication of the 2014 Occupation List Cheers, George Lombard

The ACT is about to close external nominations in another four and a half hours - see below. They now join NSW in having effectively frozen the subclass 190 program until July. Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa – Closure of ACT nomination program to overseas applicants for 2013/14 The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is pleased to announce that program targets for the Skilled- Nominated (subclass 190) visa have been met for the 2013/14 financial year. Effective close of business today (25 March 2014), applications for ACT nomination from overseas residents will not be accepted. If your clients are living overseas, they will not be able to apply for ACT nomination of a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa until the program reopens in July 2014. If your clients are living in Canberra and working in a skilled occupation, they are still able to apply for ACT nomination of the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa providing they meet the current nomination criteria. Note that people living in the ACT are still able to apply. cheers, George Lombard

Hi Alberto, Yes I do think it would be sensible to ask a registered migration agent to review these facts as the Department's continued interest seems inconsistent with your employer's apparent co-operation. Regards, George Lombard

Warning about dodgy migration agents Tuesday, 29 October 2013 Visa applicants have been warned again to avoid unscrupulous migration agencies targeting people interested in migrating to Australia, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash said today. The repeated warning follows complaints to have recently resurfaced about AUSFIS, an offshore web-based migration agency. The agency is alleged to have induced individuals to pay for visa applications that were never lodged. Senator Cash said the website invites people to register their interest by submitting an online web-form with their contact details. 'Once registered, applicants are contacted by phone or email and are asked to pay a fee ranging from $300 to $3000 via credit card in return for an ‘Immigration Package to Australia',' Senator Cash said. 'However, several users of AUSFIS's services have alleged that, once payment has been made, they either hear nothing further, or receive an email advising they are ineligible to apply for a visa.' Where people have paid money by credit card to AUSFIS, or any other migration agency for a service they did not ultimately receive, they can contact their credit card provider and lodge a ‘disputed payment' grievance with them. The credit card provider may be able to retrieve all or part of the money paid. 'AUSFIS has no influence on visa decision-making and does not represent the Australian government,' Senator Cash said. 'The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has no record of visa applications lodged by AUSFIS and the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) does not list any registered migration agents connected with AUSFIS,' Senator Cash added. http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/mc/2013/mc209139.htm

Hi Everyone, I've just been alerted to this thread and I'm not sure that DIAC is applying the rules correctly, but in particular Mausam and Susi I'd be happy to look at your CVs to confirm what you've been told. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Cal2, We've dealt with a couple of renal transplant cases recently. The major issues are the cost of anti-rejection medication and the statistical probability that you'll need another transplant - that's why the cost is estimated so highly. As far as I can see it's not really a question of what your specialists say about you but what they say about the current state of medical science, and whether you can persuade the DIAC doctors to interpret their own guidelines favourably in this respect. On the other hand, when it gets to a question of waiver it's much more about addressing the criteria which apply to you, for example in Albury you've got to meet the NSW government criteria as well as the DIAC criteria. I'm sure your RMA is across this. Good luck! Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Manek, You can contact my office at the email address below. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Kelly, From your explanation that you don't want the visa before May and August is a convenient time to bring him, there's no advantage in him applying in Australia, and you can lodge a child visa application now in the UK even prior to your having arrived here yourselves. So I would be recommending a subclass 101 visa, in principle, lodged as soon as you can. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Manek, As I said, your TRA assessment will not be invalidated because it was obtained through Pathway D. If you have a qualification and you want to claim 10 points for it, you might need to apply to TRA again. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Manek, Most TRA skills assessments since September 2007 imply that the visa applicant can claim 10 points for a qualification; if you were assessed in 2006 then I'd need to see your qualification to confirm. Your TRA skills assessment will not however expire or be invalidated if you can't claim points for any underlying qualification. Some people can reach 60 or 65 points without an underlying qualification but it's not common. If you can get to 60 then I would be looking for a state sponsorship as a safety net. 60 points is no guarantee of a subclass 189 invitation. Good luck! Cheers, George Lombard

Guys we see a lot of people start out with this ambition and from the sound of it Blossom's employer was legendary but others aren't so reliable. Zdravko I'd just suggest that you start your planning with the ambition of completing Australian qualifications over two years and targeting an occupation where there are still jobs. But you have no guarantee of finding an employer who will sponsor you, and for every model employer there are many ripoffs. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi YDU, Coming back to your initial post, a large part of our practice has always been involved in rescuing applications which have been made by individuals and employers, because no matter how simply the requirements are presented on the DIAC website, the underlying legislation is quite complex. I'm not sure that using an agent is always a guarantee of success - there are many variables and the training component of the nomination is a good example - but as repeat players I think generally agents have a higher success rate than individuals. If I were in your situation - with only one chance as you mention - then I would probably want to make sure that the employer meets the criteria but getting them to work with an agent, regardless of the advantages of faster processing through the Decision-Ready Checklist. Cheers,

Hi Jackie, The employer will need to work through the DIAC guidelines carefully to ensure compliance on the 1% option I imagine; given the size of the employer, paying 2% of the salary spend will be 10 times your salary. Cheers, George Lombard

Akshay in your EOI you have to be careful to show only the work experience which counts. When lodging the visa application you can give details of everything. As long as the work experience history is honest I doubt you will have any cause for concern. DIAC is not likely to check on work experience which is irrelevant to your points. Cheers, George Lombard

At the moment AITSL seems to have some serious difficulty in meeting the 10 week deadline. Cheers, George Lombard