IMSVISA Services: Australian visa application advice and support

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has just released its report on the 2011 working holiday scheme. Overall there was an increas of some 7% on the total number of visa grants since the same time last year. The country responsible for the largest single increase was Ireland where the total number of first working holiday visas granted rose to 18,274 - a whopping 87% more than the previous year. An indication of the tougher times in Ireland. 

In a long awaited announcement the Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, yesterday announced that the government will implement all of the recommendations of the recent student visa review.

 I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Western Australia last week. The boom economy is palpable and there is just an air of confidence about the place that we don't feel in the Eastern States. Despire the current financial woes WA is continuing to expand and needs more skilled workers. So much so that Perth itself has now been designated as a regional centre for the purposes of the Regioal Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS). This is great news for people with the right mix of skills and experience and who are reqdy to move within the next 6 months.

 An article just published in the respected Irish Echo points to the growing problem with people overstaying their visas and suggests some remedies. The article reinforces what we have been saying here before - if you are coming to Australia on a working holiday visa and decide that you would like to stay on don't leave it to the last minute to look at the options that might be available. Going underground won't do much good in the longer term either

 The following story in the Sydney Morning Herald this week serves to confirm the demand for skilled labour in Australia. There are traps, though, and you should get advice before you take the dive! Click here for the full story.

 The government has recently announced a change to the Skilled Occupation List to come into effect on 1st July. An additional 10 occupations have been added while 4 have been dropped. Of note is that barristers, solicitors, fitters, boatbuilders and medical scientists are now included while optometrists, orthoptists and panel beaters have been excluded.

Click here to see the new list. 

One of the UK's most influential newspapers carried a cover story on Australia at the end of May. Read the full story here.

The new General Skilled Migration Points Test, announced some months, comes into effect on 1st July. All new applications for independent skilled migration received after that date will be assessed against the new test. Under the new regime points are awarded on the basis of age, English language skills, qualifications, relevant work experience and some other criteria. There are no occupation specific points since all applicants will need to have an occupation and experience that is on the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL).

 The Working Holiday in Australia has been a rite of passage now for almost 20 years. The ritual of a few days in South East Asia, a couple of weeks in Sydney, buying an ancient Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore to travel north with your mate(s), do a bit of fruit picking along the way to pay for the parties on Fraser Island or Airlie Beach and then a week or two in Cambodia, Thailand or Vietnam before returning to the real world and starting a career is the stuff of legendary stories.

State Migration Plans for Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania have now been released. This now leaves New South Wales yet to be published. Together with the new Points Test to be introduced on 1 July 2011 we now have a clearer idea of the migration landscape for the coming year.

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