Many immigration legislative changes were implemented on the 1st of July 2017. I only chose a few that I believe has the most impact on future visa applicants. This article intends to explain five immigration law changes and how it affects visa applicants who have submitted their visa application on or after the 1st of July 2017.
1. Applicants should be younger than 45 years old at the time of application.
This affects the General Skilled Migration visas (189,190 and 489), Employer Sponsored visas (ENS 186 Direct Entry and RSMS 187 Direct Entry). This means that if you are 45 years old and over, you are not eligible to apply for these visas. This new policy excludes applicants for 189 visa New Zealand pathway (see item number 5 below).
Caveats implemented on 19 April 2017 for 457 visa applications now applies to ENS 186 DE applications.
2. Caveats are additional requirements set for some roles on the skilled occupation lists (MLTSSL and STSOL). I have here an example of caveats for three specific roles as shown below.
Cook (ANZSCO 351411) and Chef (ANZSCO 351311)
Excludes positions involved in mass production in a factory setting or positions in a limited service restaurant. A limited service restaurant includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- fast food or takeaway food services
- fast casual restaurants
- drinking establishments that offer only a limited food service
- limited service cafes including, but not limited to, coffee shops or shopping centre cafes
- limited service pizza restaurants.
This means that if you are working as a cook in a factory or in a restaurant where table service is not provided or you work in pub, café, or pizza places with limited food items on their menu, you will not be eligible for a 457 visa or 186 DE visa even if your employer is willing to sponsor you.
Marketing Specialist (ANZSCO 225113)
Excludes any of the following positions:
- based in a front-line retail setting
- predominately involve direct client transactional interaction on a regular basis
- with businesses that have an annual turnover of less than $1Million
- have a nominated base salary of less than AUD$65,000.
The 457 and 186 DE visas are only available for Marketing Specialists working for companies with annual revenue of at least $1M, with a salary of at least $65,000, those who do not work in retail and are not mostly involved with regular transactions with clients.
Web Developer (ANZSCO 261212)
Excludes positions that do not require a minimum of two years relevant work experience.
You should have at least 2 years of work experience to be eligible for a 457 and 186 DE visa.
3. Higher English score requirement
The ENS 186 TRT and the RSMS 187 TRT visas now require an English language score of at least 6.0 of IELTS or equivalent in each band. Before the 1st of July 2017, the requirement was at least 5.0 of IELTS or equivalent in each band.
4. Removal of English requirement exemptions (high salary)
Before the 1st of July 2017, some people can be exempted from the English requirement for a specific salary amount per visa class shown below.
- For 457 visa, you can be exempted from showing any English capability evidence if your salary is at least $96,400 a year.
- For the ENS 186 visa and RSMS 187 visa, if your salary is above $180,000 a year, you can be exempted from the English requirement.
All these exemptions were taken out from the 1st of July 2017. However, the 457 English exemption can still apply for visa applicants who are sponsored by an overseas company.
This means that even if your salary is higher than the above listed salaries and you are not sponsored on by an overseas employer (for 457 visa applicants), you are still required to show an English capability evidence.
5. New Zealand Citizens’ easier PR visa pathway.
New Zealand citizens who arrived on or before the 19th of February 2016, who have stayed in Australia for at least five years from the time of visa application, and who have been earning at least $54,000 in the last five years are eligible to apply for the 186 visa New Zealand Citizen pathway. There is no age, work experience, education, and English language requirement for this new visa pathway.
(Johanna Bertumen Nonato is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1386856) and the CEO of BridgeAus Migration Consultancy (with offices in Melbourne, Australia and Makati, Philippines). For enquiries, email info@bridgeaus.com.au or call 0427-589274).
