Visa Newsletters

March 2005

Important and interim arrangements relating to Onshore Skilled Overseas Students visas

Many overseas students who have recently completed summer semester have been unable to provide their final academic results until the first or second week of March 2005. Consequently, these students may not be able to arrange a skills assessment before their Student Visa expires, and therefore unable to lodge a valid application for either a subclass 497 visa or an onshore General Skilled Migration visa.

The Department of Immigration has introduced interim arrangements to assist those genuine applicants who are affected by this situation. Similar to the arrangements that are in place in respect of Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearances, affected applicants will only need to submit with their application evidence that they have sought a skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority. This concession will take effect from 3 March 2005 through to 30 June 2005.

Satisfactory evidence may include, but not limited to:

• a letter from either the relevant assessing authority or AFP (or both) confirming that an assessment has been sought;
• evidence of payment (eg bank draft/money order) by the applicant to the authority for the assessment.

(Please note that the above arrangement is NOT relevant to applicants for the Offshore General Skilled Migration visa categories or for those Onshore General Skilled Migration visa applicants who have already lodged their applications.)

(Tip: To ensure prompt processing of their visa applications, applicants will still need to forward their skills assessment and/or AFP clearance as soon as these are available.)

Retirement Visa - Subclass 410 - to be abolished from 1 July 2005

The Department of Immigration has confirmed that with effect from 1 July 2005, there will be no more subclass 410 Retirement Visa. In effect, no further visa application under this subclass will be accepted after 30 June 2005.

The Department has also suggested that the 410 Retirement Visa may be replaced by the Regional Investor category, but it is not clear at this point that this will come into effect on 1 July 2005.

Further updates will be posted on our website as soon as they are to hand.

(Tip: Those visa applicants who are considering applying for a Retirement Visa should initiate action as early as possible.)