On the 27th January 2012 The Department of Immigration and Citizenship announced SkillSelect, an online system which will allow skilled workers to record their details and submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to be considered for an invitation to lodge a skilled visa application. SkillSelect is a major change to how the skilled migration program is managed in Australia and will be implemented on 1st July 2012.
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The department of Immigration and Citizenship have announced today, Nov 11th 2012 that they will host 2 days of information sessions to be held in London on Feb 25th & Feb 26th next year. The events will give employers the chance to meet face to face with specially selected skilled workers. Interested skilled workers can apply to attend the event through the department’s website.
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From the 20th Sep 2011 citizens of Chile and select citizens of Turkey will be able to apply online for the e676 electronic tourist visa. The applicants will be able to check their progress online and the visa does not require a visa label to be placed in a passport. The e676 enables people to apply for a tourist visa using a convenient, fast and secure application process.
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New information has been added to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s website on 9th Aug 2011 which will give applicants a clearer view of where DIAC are in processing applications. This should prove to be a useful resource for applicants and will be kept up to date on a regular basis.
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Processing information for Skilled Migration applicants
On 19 July 2011 the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced the inclusion of Perth in the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS). The minister also agreed to include Perth as a regional area for family sponsored applications through the regional General Skilled Migration (GSM) programs.
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Perth Regional Classification
DIAC has recently released information for applicants regarding the priority processing arrangements in place for General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa applicants, including instructions on how to obtain the latest information about when an application is nearing assessment by a case officer.
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Information regarding Priority Group 5 GSM applications
All people who are not Australian citizens require a visa to enter Australia. One of the conditions for the grant of a visa is that the applicant must meet the legal requirements for entry to Australia and, in particular, the Public Interest Criteria.
From time to time, visa applications are received from, or visas are held by, people whose presence in Australia may, because of their activities, reputation, known record or the cause they represent and propagate:
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Updated Character Requirement
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is introducing the Fraud Public Interest Criterion (PIC) that will be applied to certain visa subclasses in the Skilled and Employer Sponsored Migration Program. The aim of the implementation is to minimise the level of fraud currently present in a number of visa applications. It will provide the department with a greater ability to refuse applications containing information that is false of misleading.
The Fraud Public Interest Criterion will be introduced on 2.04.2011
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Fraud Public Interest Criterion
From 1 July 2011, the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), has been indexed by 3.9 per cent, in line with the Australia-wide increase in average weekly earnings. This has increased TSMIT from $47,480 to $49,330. The increase TSMIT will apply to all nomination applications which are decided on or after 1 July 2011, regardless of lodgement date.
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Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) and market rates exemption level
Increase to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has made a number of changes to the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS). Some of the changes include the addition and removal of certain occupations from the Employer Nomination Skilled Occupation List (ENSOL). In addition, the minimum salary for ENS has been indexed. The new ENS minimum salary level has increased from $65,020 to $67,556 for certain computing professional occupations and from $47,480 to $49,330 for all other occupations.
These changes will be in effect as of 1 July 2011.
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Changes to the Employer Nomination Scheme – 1 July 2011
