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Immigration Update Major changes to the General Skilled Migration visa stream The Australian Government believes that people wishing to live in Australia should bring workplace skills that will benefit and grow the economy, together with a commitment to participate in the community - the number of skilled visas granted reflects this. This year the average age of skilled stream entrants is 31 years with the top occupation for skilled stream entrants being accountancy (10,688), followed by computing professionals (4,044) and registered nurses (2,088). Other top professions included mechanical engineers, civil engineers, marketing specialists and general managers. The 2006-07 family stream also made a greater contribution to the goal of attracting young, skilled professionals who will contribute to a cohesive society as more than 39,000 (80%) of the 2006-07 family stream were spouses, fianc￩s or interdependent. The Minister for Immigration approved policy for changes to the General Skilled Migration stream and these took effect on 1st September 2007. The changes mean that applicants under this stream will now be able to include their interdependent partner in their application. Also, the Assurance of Support provisions, the SSASSL (Sydney and Selected Areas Skill Shortage List), bonus points for Capital Investment and second stage sponsorship or nomination requirements for provisional visa holders have all been removed. The 457 visa programme has also seen some changes which are intended to ensure that sponsors of temporary skilled workers are aware of, and abide by, their obligations under this programme. All existing and future 457 sponsors will be required to meet the new obligations which include the fact that pay has to be at least at the minimum salary and that certain costs for the sponsored person and their family have to be paid for e.g. travel costs and public health costs. Additionally, improvements were made regarding English language requirements to ensure that temporary skilled workers have at least functional levels of English as this will help to protect both foreign and Australian workers, particularly in situations where a lack of English language skills can pose an occupational health and safety risk. The 2007/8 migration programme has been increased so overall the Government plans to accept up to 152,800 people as permanent migrants. This includes about 102,500 under the skilled stream which is an increase of 5,000. This increase is as a result of not only the calls from business but also the assessment of the national interest and what the optimal number of people coming to Australia would be. There will also be about 50,000 people under the family reunion programme, with 85 per cent of those being spousal reunions. Kevin Andrews, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship said during one of his speeches, “Immigration is a process, not an event. It must meet not only our economic objectives: Social cohesion and integration are equally important, as is the protection of our sovereignty and borders”. The Australian Government is highly committed to achieving its economic objectives and this has been witnessed by the improvements to the skilled migrant visa stream and also by the increase of skilled migrants to be granted residency during 2007/8. Other improvements have also been made to ensure that new migrants integrate and settle well in to Australia. For more information on the various changes as mentioned please visit www.migrationbreau.com. Editorial by Suzanne Carter, Editor – Migration News
Source: Department of Immigration adn Multicultural Affairs Are you eligible to emigrate? Find out now. Click here for a FREE initial immigration assessment provided by the Migration Bureau (officially recognised immigration and visa consultants). For information on the Migration Bureau Click here.  |
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