Starting 1 July 2015, the Government is introducing a price increase to a few Visa Application Charges. The price increase will be used to fund for improvements to support stronger borders and national security initiatives. Permanent Migration Stream, Skilled Graduate, Temporary Long Stay Business (Subclass 457), Visitor and Student visa streams. 2.3% increase. Temporary Resident Short Term BusinessRead more

DIBP posted an update that starting 22 May 2015, they will start collecting biometrics from applicants who are in Hong Kong at the time of making a visa application for Australia, unless exempted or excluded based on Australian Government Policy. Exemption: Holders of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, British National Overseas, and People’s Republic ofRead more

According to DIBP, new visa arrangements came into effect on 31 March 2015. These affects non-citizens other than permanent residents intending to work in Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry. People intending to work on resources installations should hold either a Subclass 457 Temporary Work (Skilled) visa or a Subclass 400 Temporary Work (Short StayRead more

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has implemented a new minimum English language test scores for the following visas: Skilled – Recognised Graduate (subclass 467) Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) The changes were implemented and are applied to the lodged applications for the said visas on or after April 18, 2015. If you lodgedRead more

The Government has made changes on the Temporary Skilled (Subclass 457) based on their response to the  457 Integrity Review. You can view the Government’s response here: https://www.minister.immi.gov.au/michaeliacash/2015/Pages/457-reforms-boost-integrity.aspx Below is the list of changes by the Government. The Government has expanded the list of English language providers, to include test of English as a Foreign LanguageRead more