All you need to know and do when your visa application is refused!

Receiving a refusal notification for your visa application is stressful and places you in a wave of uncertainty. However, quick action is required to resolve your visa status if your visa application was lodged onshore in Australia.

The same can be said if you received a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) for your current visa. It is best to quickly address the issues raised in the NOICC, than to challenge the decision to cancel your visa after the decision has been made.

What are the common reasons for a visa application to be refused?

The state of New South Wales (NSW) has announced its state nomination criteria for the Entrepreneur visa. This makes NSW the first state or territory to start accepting applications for nomination under the Entrepreneur visa. No other Australian state or territory has published their criteria as yet.

The NSW criteria is summarised as below:

- You will need to meet the eligibility criteria as outlined by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection

- You must submit a business plan detailing your entrepreneurial venture

- The NSW State Department must approve your business plan and be satisfied that the outlined venture will develop an enterprise or business in NSW, or commercialise a product or service in NSW

- You must have sufficient assets for settlement in NSW

You should also read up on the additional explanation provided by the NSW State Department about the complying entrepreneurial activity and acceptable funding here.

As described by the NSW State Department:

“NSW Entrepreneur visa nomination criteria continue to demonstrate our commitment to make Sydney and NSW a competitive business migration destination by making it simple and easy for potential Entrepreneur visa applicants.”

“As Australia’s capital of innovation, NSW is committed to making it easier for talented entrepreneurs to migrate and settle in Sydney and NSW.”

If you need further clarification about the NSW state nomination criteria for the Entrepreneur Visa you can arrange a meeting with the multilingual Business Migration Relationship Officers in the NSW State Department. You will be able to contact them by:

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Call: +61 (2) 9934 0704 (9:00 am – 5:00 pm AEDT Monday to Friday).

Alternatively contact Work Visa Lawyers to assess which business or investment visa option is more appropriate for your circumstances. Our Registered Migration Agents are familiar with all business and investment migration visa options, and will be able to explain the visa requirements and application procedures to you.

Sources:

http://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/live-and-work-in-nsw/visas-and-immigration/business-migration/state-nominated-visa-categories#1

http://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/92479/entrepreneur-visa-criteria.pdf

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

New South Wales has acted swiftly to attract more investment into the state. As the number one business and investment migration destination in Australia, the quick action to establish and announce the nomination criteria will further attract entrepreneurs to set up in New South Wales.

The criteria announced are very generous and do not add more difficulty above the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) requirement. The big benefit may be those who assist with writing business plans as a strong business plan is essential for a NSW nomination approval.

The remaining Australian states and territories need to launch their nomination process as soon as possible before the majority of eligible entrepreneurs head to New South Wales under the Entrepreneur visa. Otherwise they might have to introduce a looser requirement to attract entrepreneurs at a later stage.

This information is accurate on 28 October 2016

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Review, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956

or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Temporary workers on the Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) were originally expected to start paying a 32.5% tax on all wages starting on 1 July 2016 (referred as the Backpacker Tax). Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer has announced today that the Backpacker Tax will be delayed until 1 January 2017, pending a review to the Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday visas (subclass 462).

With the delay of the implementation of the Backpacker Tax, temporary workers under the subclass 417 and subclass 462 visas will continue to pay tax on money earned above A$18,200.

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

This is good news for workers and current holders of the Working Holiday and Work and Holiday visas as the tax-free threshold is maintained. The programme will continue to be attractive for overseas youth to travel to Australia while being able to work to cover travel expenses. Regional agricultural business and farmers will be delighted with the news as it might mean that there is no need to increase payments to attract workers who are required during harvest.

Links to related articles:

• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36309023
• http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/general/politics/backpacker-tax-reforms-set-to-be-shunned/2752421.aspx
• http://www.afr.com/news/policy/tax/time-to-go-sydney-too-expensive-with-a-backpacker-tax-20160517-gowxat
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-17/nt-farmers-call-backpacker-tax-delay-a-stunt/7421412

If you are interested to know more about the Work and Holiday visa programme, you can contact Work Visa Lawyers to find out more.

This information is accurate on 17 May 2016

Source:

1. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-17/malcolm-turnbull-to-back-down-on-backpacker-tax/7420102

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Review, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956

or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*** Read our earlier article about the new Student Visa structure here. ***

The new student 500 and student guardian 590 will commence from 1 July 2016

Features to include:

Three features we can comment on:

1.       The applications will be all electronic.

2.       The financial capacity requirements will be slightly higher:

The financial capacity requirements will be slightly higher:

Student: $19,830

Student Guardian: $19,830

Spouse or de-facto partner of student: $6,940

Any dependent children: $2,970

Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF)

The new simplified student visa framework (SSVF) will be influential in terms of the criteria for the student visa:

The DIBP website provides the following information:

“Under the SSVF, the combined immigration risk outcomes of the student’s education provider and country of citizenship will be used to guide the level of documentation relating to financial capacity and English language proficiency that the student would need to provide with their student visa application.”

The following chart if available from a factsheet for education providers:

“In the table S refers to streamlined evidentiary requirements while R refers to regular evidentiary requirements. Where regular evidentiary requirements apply the student will generally be required to provide evidence of their financial and English language capacity with their visa application.”

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

The shift to all electronic lodgements will be a major benefit to many applicants.  It will also allow the DIBP/DFAT to save money on staff costs.

We will provide more information about the specific requirements once they are available. In the meantime it is best that you submit your visa applications as early as possible to avoid any delays in starting your enrolled courses.

The simplification in visa classes and risk assessment criteria will be great for all involved.  The current system is very confusing and not user friendly at all.

This information is accurate on 07 May 2016

Sources:

1.     DIBP, SSVF factsheet- General information for education providers, May 2016

2.     Migration Institute of Australia, Reports to Members

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Review, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956

or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

From 1 July 2016 the Australian student visa programme will be amended to having just two visa subclasses (currently there are EIGHT subclasses). The two visa subclasses will be Subclass 500 (Student) and Subclass 590 (Student Guardian).

By reducing the various student visa subclasses the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) aims to introduce and apply the same criteria for all student visa applications. The criteria will include:

• enrolment requirements
• English language requirements
• financial capacity requirements
• Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirements

Current assessment levels and streamlined visa processing arrangements will be removed with case officers required to consider more factors to assess the genuineness and the need for individuals to provide evidence of financial and English proficiency. Case officers will be assisted by the new combined country and provider immigration risk framework that will help guide student visa evidentiary requirements and create streamlined visa application processing opportunities for education providers across all sectors.

A condition will also be attached to the new student visas to determine if a new student visa is required if you change your education courses. There will also be no restrictions on bringing family for students studying for less than 10 months.

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

The changes announced to the student visa programme come as a result of the “Future Directions for Streamlined Visa Processing Report and Recommendations” report compiled in June 2015. While it sounds like the DIBP is heading in the right direction by streamlining the student visa application process, we will need to observe the adjustments made by the DIBP after July 2016 to find out if this is a better system.

We will provide more information about the specific requirements once they are available. In the meantime it is best that you submit your visa applications as early as possible to avoid any delays in starting your enrolled courses.

This information is accurate on 18 April 2016

Source:

1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2016L00523/Download
2. https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/reviews-and-inquiries/future-directions.pdf

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Review, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956

or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.