The year gone by has been very eventful for Australia Immigration and its Visa Policies. Some key changes were made while some major developments are likely to take place this year. Right from the application of the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa, amendments in the Occupation Lists, to obligatory provisional visas prior to the Permanent Residency (PR) status in the country, there have been many changes and development.

Let’s figure-out what has been brewing, what major visa and immigration improvements have been made, and how these would define the course of Australia immigration and the Australian visa policies this year!

Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visa Substitutes 457 Visas

From March this year, the present t 457 Visa Plan has been done away with only to be traded with the wholly new Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visa.

The TSS Visa consists of a Short-Term Category permitting stays of a maximum time-frame of two years, and a Medium-Term Category enabling stays of not more than 4 years in the country. While the Short-Term Category Visa can be renewed just once, the STSOL Occupation List is applicable for the candidates for the Short-Term Stream.

The holders of the Medium-Stream Visas can renew their visas onshore and may submit an application for the Permanent Residence corridor, post doing a job in the country for a period of three years. The MLTSSL Occupation List is applicable for the Medium-Stream Visa aspirants. This specific class is comparatively comparable to the 457 Visa.

Features of the New Arrangement

1. Greater than before Employment Experience Conditions
2. Superior English Language Levels Conditions
3. Obligatory Labour Market Testing
4. Fixed Australian Market Salary Rates
5. Added Character, Anti-Discrimination and Training Conditions

Amendments to Occupation Lists in 2018

Many improvements were made to the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and also the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) in the month of April 2017 and then once more in the month of July, the same year.

Even though the MLTSSL has more or less continued to be the same, the STSOL, which is basically a list of professions nominated for temporary and short-term visas, has witnessed a few improvements.

Accommodation and Hospitality manager, Hair or Beauty Salon Manager, Recruitment Consultant and Building Associate are the professions that have been deleted from the Short-term Skilled Occupation List even as the professions of Property Manager, University Tutor, Psychotherapist, Real Estate Agent and Real Estate Representative have now been made a part of the list.

Plans Afoot to Present Mandatory Provisional Visas before Australia PR

Plans are going on to launch compulsory provisional visas before Permanent Residency in Oz and cutting-down the figure of the visas to 10 from 99. Despite the fact that no timeline has been set for execution, as per the Australian Immigration Department, it’s a long-term programme of improvement to the manner services are given. While there is not any instant effect for the visa candidates or holders, the leading step will be extensive discussion with the market, on the design and form of a new visa processing podium.

Provisional Sponsored Parent Visa

The government, in the federal budget for 2017-18, reportedly, announced a new temporary sponsored parent visa – to be obtainable from November 2017. But, the latest visa, which will enable migrants’ parents to live in the nation for extended time-frames, has been postponed.

As per the reports, the Senate has not still approved the bill enabling the new visa to come into force.

New Long Stay Visa for Parents 6 Facts You Must Know

1. The price of a 3-year-visa will be $5000, the price of a 5-year-visa will be $10,000, and the cost of a 10-year-visa will be $20,000, with the option of a single renewal for an additional 5 years at the similar cost.
2. This Long Stay Parent Visa will be proffered to 15,000 people per annum.
3. Kids /Sponsors will have to shell-out money for the private health insurance of their parents.
4. People on the new visa will lack the right to do a job in the nation.
5. Only the citizens or permanent residents of Australia or qualified citizens of the neighbouring New Zealand may offer sponsorship to their parents for the new visa.
6. The visa-holders would not be given the permission to apply again further than the 10 years even as they would also have no corridor to PR in the nation.

Partner Visa

Despite the fact that the proposed amendments to these visas were likely in 2017 it has been postponed to 2018. The reason: the concerned bill is still pending before the Senate even as it has not been enacted till date.

In case its gets enacted, it will create a sponsorship structure for the Partner Visas, placing additional light on the evaluation of the sponsors.

Under the new arrangement:

1. The sponsorship evaluation would be separate and not a part of the visa petition procedure.
2. Sponsors would have to get sanction prior to visa petitions applications are presented.
3. Lawful responsibilities would be put on the sanctioned sponsors.
4. In case sponsors fail to fulfill their responsibilities, they could be put under sanctions.
5. In some specific situations, the sponsors may be denied the right to offer sponsorship.
6. The new regulations propose that Partner Visa Sponsorship petitions would have to be submitted under tougher requirements and given a green signal before the overseas Partner Visa petition may be presented.
7. The new two-step procedure is likely to defer the submission of the overseas partner application and necessitate the overseas partner to have a lawfully valid visa until a visa petition for the overseas partner may be duly presented.