187 visa cancellations statistics: Not what was expected…

187 visa cancellations statistics: Not what was expected…

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) asked for the number of Subclass 187 – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visas cancelled under section 137Q of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This section allows Home Affairs to cancel 187 visas post-grant. The statistics were surprising.

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The regional visa debate

The regional visa debate

This week saw debate by federal and state politicians on Australia’s population and immigration, with an emphasis on migration to regional areas. Current regulations, however, does not lend itself to this policy aim, except for General Skilled Migration visas, which already has one visa subclass requiring holders to live, study and work in a regional area. Could we see greater scrutiny on this suite of visas?

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WA announces Graduate Skilled Occupation List for skilled visas

WA announces Graduate Skilled Occupation List for skilled visas

The Government of Western Australia has announced they will be offering a pathway to a skilled visas to certain international students studying a PhD, Masters and other higher degrees and create a Graduate Skilled Migration List, most likely for either Subclass 190 - Nominated visas and Subclass 489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional) visas.

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RIP training benchmarks, SAF levy commencing 12 August 2018; 457/TSS nomination validity extended

RIP training benchmarks, SAF levy commencing 12 August 2018; 457/TSS nomination validity extended

Training benchmarks for employer sponsored temporary and permanent visas will be abolished on 12 August 2018, replaced with the Skilling Australia Fund Levy. There will also be important changes to nominations applications for Subclass 457 - Temporary Work (Skilled) visas and Subclass 482 - Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visas.

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