Citizenship test overhaul to prioritise 'Australian values'

Australian citizenship law changes mean migrants will face tougher tests! The Federal Government has announced sweeping changes to the nation's citizenship laws, with the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declaring that new arrivals must prize "Australian values" and prove their commitment to the nation. Key points: • Migrants with a history of family violence, organised crime could be banned • English language test will contain more components • Permanent residents' eligibility for citizenship application will increase to four years Migrants will face a tougher citizenship test which will assess their commitment to Australia and their attitudes to religious freedom and gender equality. Those with a history of family violence or organised crime could also be barred from citizenship. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate that they have integrated into Australian society, for example by joining clubs or by providing evidence that they are employed and their children are in school. A more stringent English language test will also be introduce, which will include "reading, writing and listening" components. Migrants who become permanent residents will also have to wait four years before they can apply for citizenship — instead of the one-year wait they face at the moment. If an applicant fails the test three times they will have to wait another two years before they can sit it again. To read more click on the link below

Regional Areas for the purpose of the 187 Direct Entry visa have now been classified to the following post codes: 6041 to 6044; 6076; 6083 to 6084; 6111; 6121 to 6126; and 6200 to 6799. Perth Metro is now officially off the list for this visa.

UPDATE ON RSMS SUBCLASS 187 VISA FREEZE Skilled Migration Western Australia has announced the following: New applications to certify positions for the RSMS nominations are being accepted for the following regions in WA:  Gascoyne  Great Southern  Kimberley  Mid West  Peel  Pilbara  South West  Wheatbelt New applications for the Perth region remain suspended. Guidelines for certification remain the same as shown in the checklist for assessment. All applications (including those from the Perth region) received prior to the suspension of the program on 13 March 2017 will be processed according to the RSMS guidelines that were in place at the time of application.

For those of you who didn't see my earlier post on 14 March, the Dept of Immigration has changed to a Global Visa Processing System (so they're sharing the processing of all visa applications to offices world wide). This means, for example, partner visa application processing times have really blown out. - Prospective marriage visas (subclass 300) have gone from 5-12 months to 12-17 months; - Onshore partner visa applications have gone from around 12-16 months to being 18-20 months. - And NZ Family Visas subclass 461 from around 3-6 months to being 8-11 months. Dreadful.

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From 1 July 2017 Family Visa (partner visa) Sponsors will need to lodge and have approved a Sponsorship Application, before the actual partner visa Application can be lodged. This could have a massive affect on all of those applications where the visa is expiring shortly. This sponsorship application presumably wont be without any cost when introduced. Police reports are currently being requested for the sponsor, which is also a cost. Its all with regard to reducing family violence. http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/…/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legi…

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The following occupations are flagged to come off the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) in July. If your occupation is listed, I suggest you submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) as soon as possible. 133513 Production Manager (Mining) 221111 Accountant (General) 221112 Management Accountant 221113 Taxation Accountant 224111 Actuary 224511 Land Economist 224512 Valuer 231212 Ship's Engineer 231213 Ship's Master 231214 Ship's Officer 232212 Surveyor 232213 Cartographer 232214 Other Spatial Scientist 233111 Chemical Engineer 233211 Civil Engineer 233212 Geotechnical Engineer 233213 Quantity Surveyor 233214 Structural Engineer 233215 Transport Engineer 233411 Electronics Engineer 233511 Industrial Engineer 233512 Mechanical Engineer 233513 Production or Plant Engineer 233911 Aeronautical Engineer 233912 Agricultural Engineer 233913 Biomedical Engineer 233914 Engineering Technologist 233915 Environmental Engineer 233916 Naval Architect 234611 Medical Laboratory Scientist 234711 Veterinarian 251211 Medical Diagnostic Radiographer 251212 Medical Radiation Therapist 252411 Occupational Therapist 262611 Podiatrist 252712 Speech Pathologist 253111 General Practitioner 253211 Anaesthetist 253312 Cardiologist 253315 Endocrinologist 253316 Gastroenterologist 253317 Intensive Care Specialist 253321 Paediatrician 253913 Obstetrician and Gynaecologist 253999 Medical Practitioners nec 271111 Barrister 271311 Solicitor 272314 Psychotherapist 272399 Psychologists nec 351311 Chef* 399111 Boat Builder and Repairer 399112 Shipwright

Bad news for Perth now that Labour has been elected. The 187 Regional Certification Board has been shut down and is no longer accepting nominations for WA as being regional. They are removing Perth from the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme subclasss 187 visa. The WA skilled occupation list is under review. Who know what will happen now...uncertain times for skilled sponsored migrants.

Visa and citizenship processing times worldwide will be available online for the first time from 14 March. Yayyy! These will give you a better idea of how long it is taking to process a particular visa subclass, stream, or citizenship applicatio and replaces the current 'service standards' which are really out of date. This is part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to improve client information, and will give you more meaningful data about the visa or citizenship product of your choice. Processing times will be updated monthly to reflect current caseloads and processing pressures, and will be available for most visa subclasses and citizenship application types. It won't include processing times for some subclasses, as they are closed to new entrants, or capped and queued, e.g. some parent visas.

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