Marlou

Thanks Tulip! Exemption request was submitted yesterday with the visa application number tied to it, so hopefully that will do the trick.

Thanks! So apply for the exemption after the visa application is submitted, but before the visa is granted. She won’t be travelling before the rules change on the 22nd, but we were a bit concerned the failure to apply for the exemption was holding up the visa being granted.

Hi everyone My British mother-in-law applied for a 651 e-visitor visa a week ago, but no grant yet. Does she also need to submit a travel exemption request in order for the visa to be granted? Or even if not strictly necessary as a condition of the grant, would it speed things up? (We thought you apply for the exemption *after* the visa is granted.) thanks!

The link below from the Australian High Commission's website gives details of what is acceptable generally: http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/immi_certification.html

Sorry, just to clarify (since I can't figure out how to edit my above post) - the first point above should refer to the 'medicare levy surcharge' (only applicable to people earning over X amount), NOT the 'medicare levy', which is the standard for all earners.

Just reading through this thread and thought worth flagging that with private health insurance, the medicare levy and lifetime loading are two separate issues. You can be exempt from the medicare levy as your earnings are below the threshold, but still affected by the lifetime loading, i.e.: 1) medicare levy is an additional % of tax) - and only relevant if you earn over X amount; and 2) lifetime loading is applicable if you don't take out private health insurance within X amount of time, but later choose to buy it, you'd then be hit with the lifetime loading (being an additional cost on the premium you pay). Still navigating the above myself, so not an expert, but though worth pointing out these seem to be two separate things to consider.

Hi Lem I only looked into Victoria's requirements and they accept the two institutions I mentioned. The VLAB website has a list of the universities they accept credits from (suspect this is what you were sent): http://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au/home/admission+requirements/australian+approved+academic+institutions Good luck with your research!

Hi Lem - pasted below are a couple of links you may find useful in working out how many subjects you'd need to study to be eligible for admission in Victoria / other states. I've not been through the process myself, but did investigate the requirements for a solicitor qualified and admitted in Scotland...approx 5/6 subjects plus 2 practical skills subjects (all of which can be studied online via the University of New England & College of Law (Australian version, not the English one)). Cheapest option was through those institutions at approx $11/12,000 (whereas universities in Victoria were between $15-20k). Hope that helps. http://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au/home/overseas+applicants/uniform+principles+for+assessing+overseas+qualifications+pdf http://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au/home/overseas+applicants/information+for+qualified+overseas+applicants/

I'll bow out here as this is just distracting from the OP's question. I didn't realise that I needed to have posted thousands of times to be allowed to speak up when I thought a comment was uncalled for. For what it's worth, I didn't actually say anything about whether you help people - I know from using this forum regularly over the years that you frequently do.

I agree... we all write things (whether in an email at work, or on a forum like this) that we think sound perfectly fine, only to discover that it has been construed differently to how we had intended.

Reading your question, as it was phrased, it seemed rather judgmental. There are perhaps more pleasant ways of asking why someone has chosen a particular course of action. (Assuming the purpose of the question was to be able to then offer constructive advice, rather than just to make a point about the perceived lack of planning.) The point I'm making is that people come on PIO to ask for advice and I'd hate for people to avoid posting questions for fear of being judged. It would rather defeat the purpose of the forum...

I suspect the OP's comment about there being no need for judgement was based on having been asked "Why haven't you planned this better?" (rather than the warnings about drawbacks of the OP's plan). Personally, I thought it was an unnecessary question and not particularly helpful/constructive.

Not really sure why so many people are being dismissive of this question. As far as I can tell, his question is: do pending criminal charges (as opposed to a conviction) in a person's home country affect their Australian student visa (I presume a student visa that has already been granted, rather than an application). I'm not familiar with the requirements for a student visa, but it's quite possible that someone on here does have the experience / knowledge to be able to answer the question. (For what it's worth, I would have thought that only actual convictions could have a bearing on a person's visa status).

Hi @Racmac and @londoner in melbourne Even if the VLAB don't allow an overseas lawyer to study the required subjects in another State, (Which I actually think they do permit, based on the Uniform Admission Rules and the list of approved Australian institutions published on their site for the LLB/JD), presumably an alternative is to seek a qualifications assessment from the Legal Admissions Board in another State where course fees are cheaper (e.g. NSW), study the subjects with a uni in said State, subsequently apply to be admitted in said State, then apply for a practising certificate in Victoria with the Legal Services Board (on the basis of being admitted as an "Australian lawyer", I.e. You'd be treated like any other inter-state applicant)? Any holes in that approach? I'm keen to keep costs down as based on the Uniform Principles, someone from my jurisdiction would typically be required to study 4-5 of the academic subjects, plus the two PLT subjects (Professional Ethics and Trust Accounting). It all adds up when Victorian unis are charging between $3-$3.8k per academic subject, plus the lower costs for the PLT subjects... Thanks for your thoughts.

I've also a dual citizen with British and Australian passports and I just renewed my British one (in the UK). The requirements for renewing it in the UK are that you actually have to send off any other passports you hold (or supply colour photocopies of every page, if you can give a good reason as to why you can't / don't want to send in your foreign passport - although it's unclear what they'd accept as a good reason, presumably the need to travel on it). I was a bit shocked at the new requirements and initially my view was "it's none of their business what other passports I hold" and I wasn't really comfortable posting it to the UK Passport office. On reflection though, I didn't really want to be lying on a passport renewal form and you never know when it might come to light that you hold a foreign passport, but didn't declare it. Governments are constantly sharing info with each other, so it is possible that you'd be caught out if you don't declare it now. If you're renewing it in Oz and people are just required to supply a colour photocopy of all pages (rather than sending them your actual Oz passport) I'd just do that - it's not exactly a massive inconvenience. Just means standing at a photocopier for 5/10 mins rather than 1 minute to copy just the passport details page. The reason they want to see all pages is to see what stamps (if any) people have. They also want to know if British citizens hold another citizenship (you can't strip someone of British citizenship unless they have another citizenship to fall back on). All seems to be part of anti-terrorism measures.... In the end the renewal was quick and simple - got my passports back within a week (despite turnaround times being stated as 3 weeks).