Hi there, Martin Salvo here with a new blog!
 
Episode 6 of Partner Visa Secrets is now available, in full HD, in our YouTube Channel as well as a Podcast on Apple & Spotify.
 
Click here to watch this episode

Click here to stream on Apple Podcasts (May take up to 48 hours to show): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/partner-visa-secrets/id1509223238
Click here to stream on Spotify Podcasts (May take up to 48 hours to show): https://open.spotify.com/show/3NHG34Hw04TMEOUQfK5FV0 

Some very common questions we get from those people looking to prepare their own Australian Partner visas surround when you are considered to have been in a de facto relationship for 12 months and the process of uploading and attaching your evidence in support of your Partner visa application. Martin will cover these topics and much more in this week's Episode of Partner Visa Secrets. 
Would you like your Partner visa questions answered? Click this link to join our FREE Partner Visa Secrets Facebook Group where I go LIVE every Thursday at 7pm AEST to answer members questions, just like in this week’s episode.

NEED MORE HELP?

1. Get our Partner Visa Starter Pack here ? https://bit.ly/partnervisas

2. Learn how to write the most important document in your entire Partner visa application here ?
http://bit.ly/amazonbestsellingebook

3. Want us to help you get your Partner visa approved? Leave an enquiry here ? https://www.salvomigration.com.au/enquiry.html

In this episode, I answer some very common Partner visa questions and cover the following key topics: 

1. Witnessing of Form 888s and who can complete them for you
2. Applying for a temporary visa while on a student visa 
3. How long should your Relationship Statements be?
4. Timing when applying for a Partner Visa
5. Completing your travel history and dates
6. How to optimise your bank statement evidence
7. Does it matter where you get married? 
8. Work permits on bridging visas 
9. How does your student impact your Partner Visa
10. Tourist visa refusals

Would you like your Partner visa questions answered? Click this link to join our FREE Partner Visa Secrets Facebook Group where I go LIVE every Thursday at 7pm AEST to answer members questions, just like in this week’s episode.

NEED MORE HELP?

1. Get our Partner Visa Starter Pack here 👉 https://bit.ly/partnervisas

2. Learn how to write the most important document in your entire Partner visa application here 👉
http://bit.ly/amazonbestsellingebook

3. Want us to help you get your Partner visa approved? Leave an enquiry here 👉 https://www.salvomigration.com.au/enquiry.html 

Hi there, Martin Salvo here with a new blog!​

Episode 4 of Partner Visa Secrets is now available, in full HD, in our YouTube Channel as well as a Podcast on Apple & Spotify.

In this long-awaited episode, I discuss the impacts of COVID to all couples looking to apply for an Australian Partner visa, and the options available.

Click here (or the image below) to watch in full HD.

Hi there, Martin Salvo here.

Episode 3 of Partner Visa Secrets is now available, in full HD, in our YouTube Channel as well as a Podcast on Apple & Spotify.

In this episode, I break down what the 12 Month Rule really means when it comes to applying for an Australian partner visa under the grounds of defacto.

hWhenever I talk to couples about the 12 month rule, I think one of the things that couples get the most confused by or perhaps they don't understand about the 12 months rule is that there is a big difference between being able to show that you have been in a de facto relationship for 12 months, versus being able to show that you have been in a relationship for 12 months.

So to clarify, the 12 month rule is not about showing the Australian government that you have been with your partner for 12 months. That’s not the focus of the 12 month rule. The 12 month rule specifically requires that you have been living together to some degree or, at least, that the four aspects of your relationship, one of them being cohabitation, show that you've been together as a defacto couple 12 months prior to lodgement.

 For example, if we look at a timeline for any typical relationship, it often goes something like this;

MILESTONE 1) The couple meets. This is pretty self-explanatory!

MILESTONE 2) The couple begins exclusively dating which is the period where your relationship is developing, it's progressing. You're starting to meet each other's families, you're starting to do things together, you might take some holidays together, you might start thinking about moving in together at some point in the future. Maybe you're starting to have plans or thoughts about your future together. During that period you are still at the early stages of your relationship. It's still a boyfriend/girlfriend, boyfriend/boyfriend or girlfriend/girlfriend relationship, but there is a point in time when all of this transitions from that, let's say young type of relationship, to a more mature, committed relationship. Perhaps you move in together, you start pooling your finances and making long term plans with each other. This is when you may be able to start claiming that you are in a de facto relationship. 

MILESTONE 3) As above, there comes a point in your relationship when you transition away from an early phase relationship, to formally being able to show you are together as a de facto couple. 

Now, the 12 month rule, which is applicable to the 820/801 and the offshore 309/100 requires that you have been in a de facto relationship for 12 months before applying for your visa. 

That is what the 12 month rule means. 

Put simply, there is a clear difference between when you commence your relationship and when you commence a relationship that you can evidence as being de facto.

I feel that this is one of the main things couples get confused over and perhaps they try to, either intentionally or accidentally, claim their de facto date too soon in their timeline.

So that's probably the first bit of homework that I can give you. 

See if you can identify and very clearly separate those three key moments and periods in your relationship because they will be relevant not only to your evidence but the actual DHA application & sponsorship forms which will ask you for similar dates. 

Point number two is that don't worry, necessarily, if you feel that you can't meet the 12 month rule, and you're at a point where you're looking to apply for your partner visa quickly. 

Often there will be situations where a visa applicant is inside the country and they are on a visa that is expiring meaning that there is an urgency to apply for an onshore partner visa and secure the associated bridging visa. 

Thankfully, however, there are simple yet effective strategies to waive the 12 month rule from the assessment of the relationship, the most common is by registering your relationship as a civil union. Unfortunately only registering your relationship in certain States/Territories will waive the 12 month rule (namely Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania & ACT). 

In terms of just expanding a little bit further with regards to the process of applying for a civil union, another misconception is that you need to register the relationship before you apply for the visa. That is not the case and you can apply for your civil union after your visa is applied for should you need to for whatever reason. 

So let’s consider a typical timeline of applying for a Partner visa from on-shore. Once the onshore application is submitted, we know that with current processing times it is likely to take 2+ years to be decided. Now, the law permits that you register your civil union at any point during the processing of your application and it will still remove the assessment of the 12 months rule from your relationship.

To clarify, however, you still need to be able to demonstrate that you were in a de facto relationship at the time your application was submitted (and eventually decided), however, you will not need to show that you were defacto 12 months prior to lodgement, which naturally is much harder to do given it is earlier in your relationship timeline. 

I hope this helps explain what the 12 months rule really is, what it requires you as a couple to demonstrate, and how you might be able to remove that from the assessment of your relationship. 

To Your Success!
 Martin Salvo

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want To Learn More?

1. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL
https://bit.ly/PVSsubcribe

2. FRIEND REQUEST
Send me a personal Friend Request on Facebook here 👉https://bit.ly/MartinFBProfile (Yep! It's actually me 🙂)

3. FOLLOW US
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salvomigration
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4. WANT FREE PARTNER VISA STUFF?

- Join our Partner Visa Secrets Community here 👉 https://bit.ly/PVSCommunity
- Register for our upcoming LIVE Partner Visa Secrets Training here 👉https://bit.ly/PVSLive 
- Get our Partner Visa Starter Pack here 👉 https://bit.ly/partnervisas

6. GET MY AMAZON BEST SELLING BOOK: http://bit.ly/amazonbestsellingebook

7. WANT ME AND MY TEAM TO MANAGE YOUR ENTIRE PARTNER VISA?

Take our short quiz here 👉 http://bit.ly/partnervisasuccess

www.salvomigration.com.au

COVID-19 has impacted every facet of our lives and each day, we are all faced with new and different challenges. 

In my humble opinion, nothing impacts us more as humans than our ability to be with the ones we love and for those reading this, perhaps you are in the middle of navigating through what can already seem as confusing and overwhelming Partner visa criteria and procedural requirements.

Many of you may even be considering submitting your applications much sooner than what you originally had anticipated, fuelled by the uncertainty of the ongoing and far-reaching impact of COVID-19 and wanting to get some sense of control back by lodging your visa.

However the one thing I want to make clear to all of you is NEVER RUSH INTO APPLYING FOR AN AUSTRALIAN PARTNER VISA.

Why?

Because of what is known as Time of Application (TOA) criteria.
 
TOA means that when your application is submitted it is ‘date stamped’ and even though it may take two years for your application to be assessed, when the case is eventually opened by the department, the case officer will, figuratively speaking, go ‘back to the date of the application’ and assess whether or not the four aspects of your relationship demonstrate that you were in a de facto, or married relationship at the time of application (for those applying for the 820 or 309).

When couples run into problems with Partner visas, it rarely revolves around their facts at the Time of Decision (TOD). This is logical though right? If an application takes 24+ months to process, assuming the couple continues to maintain their relationship, in 2 years time they would have naturally accumulated more evidence (i.e. lived together longer, more joint bills, deeper pooling of their finances, purchases more things together, taken more holidays, etc). These are all clear positives, however, they do not necessarily solve or help to strengthen the TOA facts of the relationship.

Now, there is, of course, a bit of a balancing act here.

On the one hand, you're trying to submit a partner visa either to keep your partner lawfully in the country or looking to get it in the queue if you apply from offshore. 

But on the other hand, you don't want to bring the assessment of ‘time of application’ in your relationship unnecessarily too soon in your timeline. 
​
The rule of thumb is, and this is something that I talk about with all couples, the longer that you can wait to apply for a partner visa, the stronger your relationship will naturally be. 

Of course, there are benefits to applying for a Partner visa (i.e. Work Rights once on the bridging visa and access to Medicare), and there are certain situations where couples are forced to submit quickly (i.e. a visa expiring and lack of alternative options). 

However, all I am encouraging you to do is weigh up the requirements, look at your evidence & four aspects, consider your personal circumstances, and ultimately make a decision that gives your Partner visa application the best possible chance for approval.

==>>> Again, watch the full episode here.
​
 To Your Success!
 Martin Salvo

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

​Want To Learn More?

 1. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL https://bit.ly/PVSsubcribe

 2. FRIEND REQUEST
Send me a personal Friend Request on Facebook here 👉https://bit.ly/MartinFBProfile (Yep! It's actually me 🙂)

 3. FOLLOW US
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salvomigration
Intagram: https://www.instagram.com/salvo_migra...

 4. WANT FREE PARTNER VISA STUFF?
----> Register for our upcomming LIVE Partner Visa Secrets Training here 👉https://bit.ly/PVSLive
----> Get our Partner Visa Starter Pack here 👉 https://bit.ly/partnervisas

 6. GET MY AMAZON BEST SELLING BOOK: http://bit.ly/amazonbestsellingebook
​
 7. WANT ME AND MY TEAM TO MANAGE YOUR ENTIRE PARTNER VISA?
Take our short quiz here 👉 http://bit.ly/partnervisasuccess

Brick by brick, our Wall of Approvals keeps growing. Below you will find a few more we added in the months of February 2020.

You can find our full Wall of Approvals 👉 here.

This Newsletter is a big one...double in fact!

It contains information and data from both December 2019 and January 2020!

Have you seen our Partner Visa Starter Pack? 

Inside you will find:

✅ Legally researched & written 21-Page Workbook
✅ [Exclusive] 3-Part Video Training Series
✅​ Partner Visa Journey Infographic

$100 Value, but FREE for a limited time.

Get it here 👉​ http://bit.ly/partnervisas

Back to business however, brick by brick, our Wall of Approvals keeps growing. Below you will find a few more we added in the months of December 2019 and January 2020.

You can find our full Wall of Approvals 👉 here.

Another month, another newsletter...!

Looking into Australian Partner visas? We have just released a new video called 'The Australian Partner Visa Journey' where senior immigration lawyer/migration agent Martin Salvo walks you through the 8 steps in the Australian Partner Visa Journey...in 5 Minutes!

It starts from when you meet an Australian (Step 1), all the way to the eventual approval of your permanent residency (Step 8)!

​Click below to watch.

You can grab a copy of the Infographic, Workbook and Partner Visa Video Training Series here

Back to business however, brick by brick, our Wall of Approvals keeps growing. Below you will find a few more we added in November 2019.

You can find our full Wall of Approvals 👉 here.

Another month, another newsletter...!

Do you know what the most important part of ANY partner visa is? Your LOVE STORY! Below you can find more information on principal immigration lawyer, Martin Salvo's, new book, 'The Perfect Relationship Statement Guide & Template Pack'.

Back to business however, brick by brick, our Wall of Approvals keeps growing. Below you will find a few more we added in October 2019.

You can find our full Wall of Approvals 👉 here.

Another month, another newsletter...!

We are constantly looking for ways to improve the way we do things here at Salvo Migration. Currently, we are working on simplifying the way people can contact us and clarifying the visa services we offer. Below you will find a Sneak Peak to our new Enquiry Form which will be released soon​. 

You will note that we are transparent in the fact we only provide assistance with the preparation of certain Australian visa's. As much as we would like to be able to help as many people as possible, we stay focused on what we are experts in and what we can help with. This ensures we continue to provide the best possible service, and importantly, getting consistent visa approvals for our clients.

Nothing makes us happier than happy clients! And there's no happier clients than Salvo Migration clients 😉

As PROOF, see below some more Happy Selfies received from some lovely clients of ours who recently had their visas granted!

You can look through more Happy Selfies here.

Back to business however, brick by brick, our Wall of Approvals keeps growing. Below you will find a few more we added in September 2019.

​You can find our full Wall of Approvals 👉 here.

Another month, another newsletter...!

Veazy®, our DIY Visa Preparation and Management Platform continues to gear up for launch and we have recently been working on refreshing some designs. See below for a sneak peak:

More designs to follow, including an entirely new website at https://www.veazy.com.au (keep an eye out).

We have also received a lot of questions surrounding how much Veazy will cost to use. Pricing Plans will be released soon however for now we can confirm the following details:

1. Users will initially be able to sign up for a 7 day free trial (with no card required). During their trial, a user will enjoy access to all of the built in tools and features of the platform (aside from purchasing our Template Packs which will be sold separately);

2. Upon the completion of the 7 day free trial, a user will be asked to select their preferred Plan in order to continue using Veazy to prepare Australian visa applications;

3. Plans will be billed monthly or yearly (which is discounted) with no lock in contracts or cancellation fees. A user can simply elect to use Veazy for as long as needed.

​4. Users will be able to purchase Power Ups⚡ to get more help with their applications. These Power Ups will include:

              a. 1-Hour Skype/Phone Consultation with an Immigration Lawyer
              b. Full File Review of their prepared application by an Immigration Lawyer

​More details and information will be provided shortly. 

Back to business however, brick by brick, our Wall of Approvals keeps growing. Below you will find a few more we added in August 2019.

You can find our full Wall of Approvals 👉 here.

Welcome to the first newsletter of the new financial year, but don't worry, we aren't here to talk about taxes.

​Let's get straight into it!

In July we started reaching out to some of our clients who had recently had their visas approved to take a HAPPY SELFIE 📷 I mean, who doesn't love getting their visa approved right? See below for a few examples ​😊

Congratulations everyone!

​You can find our full Wall of Approvals 👉 here. 

Looking into Partner visas? Check out our Free Resources Page dedicated to providing you some of the most comprehensive tools and resources to help you understand more about Partner visa options, pathways and legal requirements!

​Click 👉​ here to access these free resources and start learning!

After years of development, months of testing, and countless improvements, Veazy® Australia's first and only, multi-visa application preparation tool is almost ready for public launch. 

​WHATS NEW? 🆕

​OTHER INTERESTING STATISTICS 📊
Here's some other statistics you may find interesting about April 2019.

As some readers may be aware, the Australian Government had previously proposed changes to the process in how we apply for Australian Partner visas. Specifically, with the introduction of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2018, it was suggested that before a Partner visa could be applied in future, the Australian sponsor would need to first be approved as a 'family sponsor'.

Importantly, this was a key change to how Partner visas had been prepared and submitted for many many years where there was no such requirement, and both the sponsorship and visa could be submitted together. This often allowed us to submit applications in urgent situations, where for example, the visa applicant was currently inside Australia and their visa was expiring. By being able to submit applications quickly, we were able to secure a bridging visa for applicants allowing them to remain in the country lawfully until a decision had been made on the Partner visa.

This process is visually explained in the diagram below:

As things stood, the proposed changes were not yet 'in effect' and it was business as usual.

THIS HAS NOW CHANGED....

As of today, the 9th April 2019, we have received confirmation that provisions and requirements set out in the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2018 will come into effect on the 17th April 2019 bringing in a new age in the way Partner visas are prepared and submitted. 

To confirm, from the 17th April 2019 onwards, it will be a requirement that the sponsorship in relation to an Australian Partner visa be submitted separately and before the application of the Partner visa. Only once the Australian has been approved as a 'family sponsor' will their spouse/partner be eligible to apply for the Partner visa, and for those onshore at the time of lodgement, be eligible for the grant of a Bridging Visa. 

This process is visually explained in the diagram below:

Important Things to Consider

1. Practically speaking, only Partner visa applicants who are currently inside Australia and have a visa expiry date within the next 2-3 months or so, should consider applying for the visa prior to the 17th April 2019. Otherwise, unless you are confident that your relationship facts and evidence sufficiently demonstrate you are in a de-facto or married couple, rushing to apply for a Partner visa may lead to problems in future when assessed against 'time of application' criteria ('Time of Application' criteria is best explained in our free Webclass ? here)

2. As above, couples looking to apply for off-shore Partner visas (such as the 309/100 and PMV 300) should not, necessarily, be looking to rush into lodging an application unless they are confident they already meet the visa criteria. 

3. We do not yet know the specific criteria for the approval of a 'family sponsor' in relation to Partner visas post 17th April 2019, however we assume the criteria will be similar, if not identical, to how sponsors are currently assessed, except the difference being this is now done 'upfront' as opposed to when the partner visa is assessed as per the OLD Process pictured above (stay tuned). Importantly, this may require that sponsors provide police clearances from both Australia and countries lived in overseas with their sponsorship applications. As these clearances can take several weeks to be returned it may be advisable to start arranging these asap. 

4. We do not yet know how long it will take for family sponsor applications to be decided. Also, given that the DHA will be implementing this assessment process for the first time, we would encourage readers to take any processing estimates initially released by the DHA with a grain of salt as it is unlikely any accurate timeframe will be established until the DHA has received, and processed, enough sponsorship applications to provide accurate data and statistics on waiting times 

5. This does NOT IMPACT applications already submitted and pending with the DHA.

What Should I Do?

Our office will soon be getting in touch with all our pending Partner visa clients to advise and plan regarding the 17th April 2019 implementation date of these changes. Rest assured we are 'onto it'! 
​
For those reading this who are not yet Salvo Migration clients and would like to discuss their Partner visa case, you can chat with our legal team, for free, on Facebook Messenger by clicking on the 'Lets Chat' button below. Otherwise, for those interested in commencing their matter with priority please leave an enquiry online here. 

Testimonials on Display

We have now added a Testimonials section on our website which you can view 👉 here. Each month we will add any newly received testimonials that visitors are welcome to scroll through. 

Brick by brick

​Brick by brick, our Wall of Approvals keeps growing. Below you will find a couple more we added recently...

To see the full Pricing Page please click 👉​ here.

To watch the Webclass please click 👉 here.

We have plans to introduce additional Web-classes in 2019 covering the following topics:

• Parent Visas: Whats The Best Option?
• Sponsored Visas (Everything You Need to Know as an Employer)
• Sponsored Visas (Everything You Need to Know as an Employee)
• General Skilled Migration; Pathways to PR in 2019 and Beyond
• New Zealand Citizens: How to Get Australian Citizenship

Stay tuned! 

Veazy

​WANT TO GET IN TOUCH? 📞
​
​Want to get your visa approved? We can help 😎

To speak to our legal team and leave a visa enquiry, please contact us 👉 here.

Warm Regards,

​The Salvo Migration Team

⏯ Watch the quick video below to see inside the Workbook!

• Partner Visa Journey - click  👉 here to read

• 5 Top Tips to Instantly Improve Your Partner visa - click  👉 here to read

 

• How to Avoid the 12 Month Rule - click  👉 here to read​

​Want to get your visa approved just like the examples above! We can help 😎

To speak to our legal team and leave a visa enquiry, please contact us 👉 here.

Warm Regards,

​The Salvo Migration Team

Want to see more? Click 👉​ here to follow us on Instagram! 

Need an immigration lawyer you can trust? Contact us today!
Click 👉 here to leave an online enquiry. 

Clearly outlining your timeline to the DHA visually helps to very quickly and simply explain to your case officer the important and key milestones they are looking for when assessing you against the 'time of application' Partner visa criteria. Please note, the above should be used as an example as there is no limit in terms of how many dates/events you can include in your timeline. That being said, the more you do the better prepared your application will be! 

For example, other dates/events you can include are a) date engaged, b) date Civil Union registered, c) date married (if applicable), d) date child born (if applicable), e) date joint property purchased, f) date large overseas holiday etc. 

2. Make Sure Your Information & Documents are CONSISTENT!

​Minor mistakes including inadvertent inconsistencies can prove costly down the line and result in delays in obtaining your visa.

The dates and information across all documents must be consistent, or any legitimate inconsistencies must be clearly explained up front. This includes cross checking key dates provided in the application form with the supporting evidence - relationship statements, joint leases, bank accounts, travel itineraries etc.

Any social media accounts or statements provided by family/friends must also be consistent with your application and documents. Immigration can cross check with any information publicly available or verify information directly with your witnesses. Therefore, if your social media profiles are set to PUBLIC, it is advisable that you change your 'relationship status' to reflect the dates claimed in your application (and hopefully in your Relationship Timeline should you use our template mentioned above). 

Ask yourself the following questions before you finalize and submit your application:

1. Are the dates I have included in the Application form consistent in the Sponsorship form?

2. Are the dates we have declared in our Relationship Statements consistent with both the Application and Sponsorship Form?

3. Is our Relationship Timeline Diagram consistent with the Relationship Statements, Application and Sponsorship Forms?

4. Do our supporting documents verify the dates we have claimed? 

Please note, the above questions should be used as an example. In practice, we cross check everything to make sure we don't miss an inconsistency that may be hiding somewhere 😊​

3. RENAME Your Documents Prior to Uploading

A key factor is ensuring your documents are organised and re-named in accordance to the document upload framework in IMMI systems.

Highlight your names and addresses on all documents, particularly where it demonstrates joint ownership or cohabitation. Merge any documents that belong together e.g. photos, social media extracts and phone records.
​
This will make it easier for Immigration to identify your documents and assess your relationship (resulting in a quick decision!)

4. Write COMPELLING Relationship Statements

Immigration are ultimately looking for whether a relationship is genuine. The documents alone will not always paint a clear picture of the nature of your relationship or your love for each other.

It is therefore important to write detailed and compelling statements that explain how you met, your timeline, any key milestones and your future plans. Including key words of ‘love’, ‘commitment’ and ‘children’ can make the statement a more personal insight into your relationship and show your long term plans to be together, forever! 

It is also vital to cover key aspects of your relationship including your household, finances and social aspect. This will act as a summary of sorts and tie your evidence together (which you also would have renamed by now 😊​)

Additionally, there is no 'word limit' and you are welcome to be as descriptive as you wish, however we always make sure our clients are writing factual and emotionally compelling statements. For example, a smaller statement that uses 'love language' and clearly explains the care and commitment a couple have to each other will always hold more weight than pages and pages of cold and calculated phrasing. Don't be afraid to get emotive...this is your chance to essentially write your own love story (sorry, no vampires 🧛). 

What’s New?

Recently, the Australian Government made changes to the requirements of local businesses looking to sponsor non-Australians into skilled positions. One such change was further clarification in terms of the kinds of advertising it expects businesses to have conducted seeking to fill the position with Australian workers prior to submitting a Sponsorship application for a foreign worker. This is otherwise known as the Labour Market Testing requirement.
 
Where Should you Advertise?

Accordingly, Australian businesses will now need to demonstrate the following in relation to the position they wish to fill with a non-Australian worker:

What Should the Advertisements Say?

In order to meet DHA requirements, the advertisements should provide the following information:

• be in English
• the title, or a description, of the position;
• the name of the approved sponsor or the name of the recruitment agency being used by the sponsor; and
• the annual earnings for the position (unless the annual earnings will be greater than the Fair Work High Income Threshold, currently AUD 142,000);

 
How Long Should it Run For?

Under DHA policy, for online advertisements, it is expected that the advertisement would have remained live for at least 28 consecutive days and within 4 months of lodgment. Similarly, for print or radio advertisements, it is expected that applications or expressions of interests were accepted for at least 28 consecutive days. 

Do You Have an Example?
 
We sure do! Please see below for a template/example that you can use in your advertisements.

I Have Already Advertised. Can I Use It?

As long as your advertisements were similar to the example provided above, ran for at least 28 days and were placed within 4 months of lodging the Nomination, this may be acceptable. However, given the ever continuing changes surrounding this are of immigration law, we would encourage you to seek professional advice prior to submitting your application.

Is Anyone Exempt?

Due to current International Trade Obligations, exemptions do exist in certain cases. This blog will not necessarily summarize all of the exemptions under the relevant Legislative Instrument, however for the benefit of most of our readers, we can confirm that nominees who are Citizens/Nationals of China, Japan or Thailand as well as Citizens/Nationals/Permanent Residents of Chile, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore will be exempt under current rules (i.e. if you are one of the above, your employer will not be required to meet Labour Market Testing requirements in order to sponsor you).

Looking for Help?
 
If you have any questions relating to the LMT requirement and how to ensure your businesses satisfies these new requirements, please feel free to leave an online enquiry here.

​Salvo Migration

In more good news for Australian businesses wanting to sponsor foreign workers (sarcasm - see here), on the 10 May 2018 the Australian Senate passed the Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2017 and Migration (Skilling Australians Fund) Changes Bill. Effectively, the combined impact of this Legislation is replacement of the previous Training Benchmarks with the imminent introduction of a Training Levy. In short,  the Training Levy is an additional fee payable by Australian employers at the time that they nominate non-Australians for Sponsored Visas. The funds received will be put towards the financing and operation of the Skilling Australia Fund, managed by the Department of Education and Training. 

Once finalized and in force, it is anticipates the Training Levy fee payable by Australian employers will be as follows:

For businesses with turnover of less than $10 million per year

• TSS Visa - $1200 for each year the nominee will be working for the business, for example:
  
  Carpentry Brisbane Ltd wish to sponsor Kerry McGill, a qualified and experienced carpenter, for 4 years on a Subclass 482 TSS visa. Carpentry Brisbane Pty Ltd will be required to pay $4800  towards the Training Fund at the time that they nominate Kerry, being $1200 x 4 years.
  
  Please note, the requirement for the business to make a payment towards the Training Fund repeats each time a new worker is nominated on the TSS visa. The up front payments are required per worker, per year. 
  
  
• ENS/RSMS - a one-off payment of $3000 each worker nominated for the ENS or RSMS.

For businesses with turnover of $10 million or more per year

• TSS Visa - $1800 for each year the nominee will be working for the business, for example:
  
  Carpentry Brisbane Ltd wish to sponsor Kerry McGill, a qualified and experienced carpenter, for 4 years on a Subclass 482 TSS visa. Carpentry Brisbane Pty Ltd will be required to pay $4800  towards the Training Fund at the time that they nominate Kerry, being $1200 x 4 years.
  
  Please note, the requirement for the business to make a payment towards the Training Fund repeats each time a new worker is nominated on the TSS visa. The up front payments are required per worker, per year. 
  
  
• ENS/RSMS -  a one-off payment of $5000 each worker nominated for the ENS or RSMS.

If you have any questions relating to the Training Levy or Sponsored visa requirements in general, please feel free to get in contact with us here, or join our private Facebook Group here.

We hope this helps.

Salvo Migration

To quote the great Bob Dylan...The times they are a changin'. Indeed this is becoming more prevalent in the way emerging cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is shaping to change our lives and futures in a variety of industries. We cant profess to be IT experts here at Salvo Migration (unfortunately we are only experts in Australian immigration law), however, we are always looking at ways to make our clients lives as stress free as possible. With this end in mind, we are pleased to announce that our clients will now be able to pay for their professional fees and Home Affairs Visa Application Charges using a variety of cryptocurrencies. We hope this will give clients more flexible payment methods and make things a little more manageable when budgeting for all the costs associated with any visa application. 

Accordingly, we now accept the following cryptocurrencies:

1. Bitcoin
2. Ethereum
3. Litecoin
4. Dash
5. Bitcore
6. Monero
7. Eth Classic
8. Zcash
9. Steem
10. PIVX
11. Dogecoin
12. BC

​​
If you are interested in using cryptocurrency to help pay for the costs associated to your visa application, or even if you just want to use plain old 'normal money', please feel free to leave us enquiry below and we will respond within 24 hours!

As our readers are probably aware, varying changes were made to Australian visa pathways throughout 2017. You may also know that further changes will be coming into effect sometime 'early' March 2018. What you may not know, however, is the true combined effect of these changes and visa pathways for migrants to this country. In this lengthy blog, we will dive a little deeper into what these changes really mean in the context of the Australian visa framework so that hopefully you can start to make an informed decision, or plan ahead, should you be trying to secure a visa to this country in the near future. 
​
Accordingly, it is important to start off by saying that changes to Australian immigration laws are not uncommon. We have seen countless immigration policy and legal changes in the last several years. With each change comes new Regulations, new requirements and new ‘stuff’ that we, as registered Migration Agents/Lawyers, need to become very well versed on as quickly as possible. Often, the specifics of these changes are not known until they have taken legal effect, meaning that there is inevitably a very 'intense' short period of time which we, as the professionals in our industry, must read all available resources as quickly and carefully as possible to ‘learn’ the new ‘stuff’ and then be able to advise clients accurately. 

This cycle of change is not new and it will continue to happen simply due to the highly politized nature of Australian immigration. With every newly elected Government, comes an adjusted stance on Australian immigration, sometimes even reversing previous changes implemented by the prior Government. This causes unpredictability, but ultimately, also leads to the need for legally trained professionals who should be able to digest and comprehend these changes better than clients, who often may not be native English speakers.

This now brings me to the current state of affairs. The sweeping changes that came about in 2017 and further proposed changes in early in 2018 have been unprecedented. Since the announcements in April 2017, we, as a migration agency, have found ourselves spending more time explaining to people why they are not eligible for a visa rather than explaining the requirements of a visa someone is eligible for. Let’s dive into this a little more

Pathways into Australia

There are only limited pathways into Australia. I have said this for many years and the saying has never rang truer than today. The simplest and quickest way that I can summarize this is to direct you to this video here where I outline, what was at the time, the ‘Common Pathways to Permanent Residency’ (refer to the image below also). I will say that the pathways to residency have evolved since that video and the image were created, however the initial temporary visas used to enter Australia remain the same (i.e Tourist/Visitor, Student and Working Holiday visas). Statistics show that of the 7.7 million temporary visas granted in the 2015-16 Programme Year approximately 5.3 million (70%) of these were represented by the visas I mentioned above (source: https://www.border.gov.au/about/reports-publications/research-statistics/statistics/year-at-a-glance/2015-16). Of the remaining 30% of temporary visas granted, 1.9 million (25%) of these were Subclass 444 visas available only to New Zealand Citizens. The remaining 5% included Maritime Crew and Transit Visas, other Temporary Visas and the doomed Subclass 457 visas. 

​Accordingly, if you are in Australia, or looking to enter Australia, statistics tell me that you will be on either a Tourist, Student or Working Holiday visa. I call these visas ‘vehicles’ and they are great at getting you here, however, what if you want to stay permanently? What options do you have? Lets have a look.

Permanent Residency Options

​The image above helps to visually demonstrate important statistics that defined the 2014/2015 programme year. It tells us that 190,000 permanent places were available during that period, made up substantially of certain visas types. Although the image above is slightly outdated, the 2016-17 Programme Year followed similar numbers with 183,608 permanent visas granted (Source: https://www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/statistics/report-on-migration-program-2016-17.pdf). 
 
Accordingly, the 2016-17 Programme Year was made up of the following:
 
·         Skill Stream: 123,567 permanent visas (approximately 67% of all permanent visas granted)
·         Family Stream: 56,220 permanent visas (approximately 30% of all permanent visas granted)
 
Importantly, the above two Streams represented approximately 97% of all permanent visas granted during this period.

Importantly, if we break these statistics down further, we can start to identify and narrow down specifically what type of visa subclasses fall within these Streams:

Of the 123,567 Skilled visas granted:

o    48,250 (39%) of these were for Sponsored visas

• 78.9% of these were ENS 186 visas
• 21.1% of these were RSMS 187 visas

o    67,857 (54%) of these were Skilled (GSM) visas
o    Approximately 7% of these were for other visas
 
Of the 56,220 of Family Stream visas granted:

o    47,825 (85%) of these were Partner visas
o    7563 (13%) of these were to Parent visas
o    Approximately 2% of these were for other visas

So, let’s see what this looks like visually:

What this shows us is that four visa categories (Sponsored, Skilled (GSM), Partner and Parent) accounted for approximately 171,495 permanent visas granted in the 2016-17 Programme Year, which equates to 93.5% of all permanent visas granted to Australia in that period.

Additionally, the current 2017-18 Programme Year has identical planning levels, meaning that by 30 June 2018 we can anticipate that a similar number of visas would have been granted in the streams discussed above (source:  https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/20planning). 
 
Understanding the statistical significance of Sponsored, Skilled and Partner visas, we can now explore how the changes earlier this year and future propose changes in March 2018, have already, and will impact each of these streams in different ways.

Impact on Sponsored Visas

Since the recent announcements, Sponsored visa pathways were the hardest hit. There have been numerous changes and measures introduced which has made being eligible for these visas very difficult. To date, these include:

• Changing of the occupation lists to the MLTSSL and STSOL
• Removal of occupations from both these lists
• Changing of policy in terms of the length of 457 visa can be granted depending on which list your occupation falls into in addition to removing a transition pathway to residency for non-MLTSSL occupations
• Introduction of ‘Caveats’ (i.e additional criteria) for occupations lucky enough to be still on the lists which narrows eligibility further
• Reduction of age limits for ENS and RSMS visas
• Increase in English language requirements for ENS and RSMS visas

Moreover, come March 2018, future changes will make Sponsored visas even harder as we see the abolishment of the 457 visa and the limiting of permanent pathways to those on the GOOD OCCUPATION LIST (i.e the MLTSSL) or those on a yet to be defined ‘additional list’ for RSMS applications.

Accordingly, let’s summarize the real changes which we will see come March-2018:

1. The 457 will be replaced by the TSS visa, which amongst other things, and will require 2 years skilled employment in the occupation
2. The ENS and RSMS visas will require 3 years skilled employment

With regards to point 2 and 3 above, the question has to be asked how many applicants of these visas were previously recently qualified international students (with no work experience) or working holiday makers which came to Australia shorty after receiving their qualification? Accordingly, these changes will effectively put a line through any Australian international graduate looking to be sponsored and a percentage of those recently qualified from back home as they will not have the required years of work experience in their occupation.

The impact of this is that most Australian Vocational qualifications will become valueless in terms of providing graduates with a pathway to a Sponsored visa or permanent residency. How will this impact the international student sector as word trickles back to common student migrant countries (India, China, Nepal etc) that Australia has made it much more difficult for international graduates to gain permanent residency unless you come and study a very narrow list of occupations that is now updated every 6 months? We have already begun to hear reports of Universities simplifying the process for international students to gain enrolment as well as offering scholarship incentives due to a reduced interest in enrolling in further studies. In addition, we have also received news of smaller educational institutions having to close due to the dramatic drop in international student enrolments already. Sure, the big tertiary institutions will always be in a position to entice international students, however what about the little guys? Unfortunately I predict that many more smaller institutions will face similar issues if they haven't already. 

To add to this, from March we will see the introduction of a Training Levy applicable to the new TSS and pre-existing ENS visas. Let’s be frank, the amount of Australian employers that would be willing to pay, up-front, thousands of dollars to a training levy in order to sponsor a migrant worker would be, in my humble opinion, limited to big/large businesses. Small businesses will not, again in my humble opinion, be willing to incur these expenses. What this will create is added pressure on the migrant worker to ‘absorb’ these added costs, despite this being regulated against. This could essentially increase the cost to migrants by several thousand dollars. That being said, in my experience, migrants looking for a better quality of life and future in Australia will do whatever it takes as long as they have a pathway to residency. However, if the post-March 2018 landscape only provides a Sponsored pathway to PR for those on MLTSSL occupations, then what will those qualified in STSOL occupation do? Will it be worth it financially for them to spend thousands on a process that may only extend their stay for another 2 years? I predict this will be a genuine question asked by many would-be applicants and how many of them will decide they will give New Zealand or Canada a go instead given that our migration systems are comparable but may have better pathways to residency and Citizenship?

Increased costs will naturally lead to migrants looking to save money elsewhere. This will logically cause applicants to self-prepare more applications with the hope of not needing to engage a migration agent or lawyer. The money spent on the training levy payment can be saved by preparing the application themselves, right? Yes, this may be the case, however anyone who has been in the migration industry long enough knows that there are just some things the DIBP website and generic checklists do not say or tell you what you really need. In addition, the most notorious ‘criteria’ of any Sponsored visa is what is called the genuine need of a position. This is effectively the ability of an employer to be able to prove on paper that the occupation they are nominating is real and is needed in their business. There is, unfortunately, no simple way to do this as the very nature of the assessment is discretionary. How can one really tell if a position is needed? It simply depends on all of the circumstances and all of the evidence provided. 

I don’t say this in an attempt to ‘motivate’ readers to seek out a legal professional, I say this because I simply predict a large volume of self-prepared Sponsored applications which will lead to a:

• Larger volume of incomplete applications submitted to the DIBP
• Larger volume of Request for Information emails sent to applicants outlining generic documents/information needed with no real guidance or templates provided to assist the applicant
• Slower processing time as the DIBP deal with this higher volume of incomplete applications (we have already witnessed an increase in processing time averages)
• Higher refusal rates by the DIBP due to applications that do not sufficiently evidence that the criteria is satisfied (predominantly surrounding the Genuine Need criteria)
• Higher rate of appeals of these refusals to the AAT
• High rate of applicants then looking for legal representation for these AAT appeals

 
So from March 2018 I would conclude that the door on Sponsored visas has not necessarily shut entirely, but has, at best, been left ajar slightly. Lets reflect that this is in relation to a stream that had previously accounted to 26% of all permanent visas granted to Australia.

Unfortunately, the ones thin enough to squeeze in will be limited to the significant minority of those who had once applied for these visas.  The effect of this is that migrants will seek alternative pathways, however, what does that really mean?

Impact on Skilled Visas
 
One alternative pathway is a Skilled Visa, being a visa independently of an Australian employer or Sponsor. Importantly, these visas hinge on an applicant having a migration skills assessment in a ‘skilled occupation’ and meeting a ‘points test pass mark’. Accordingly, when I say Skilled Visas, naturally I am referring to 189. 489 and 190 pathways. The Subclass 189 is bound to the ‘GOOD OCCUPATION LIST’, whatever form it may take at any current point in time, which is currently referred to as the MLTSSL.

Recent changes have reduced the occupations on this, however for the most part, I would say it was not majorly affected. In saying that, what has impacted the 189 is that with the tightening of Sponsored visas, it has caused a greater volume of applicants now seeking to qualify independently. This causes a greater number of Expression of Interests submitted leading to longer waiting times for an Invitation and points cut offs for occupations. Please note, this is not speculative as this is already happening (refer to below):

(Image above taken from the 3rd January 2018 Invitation Round - http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/work/skil/invitation-round-3-january-2018)
​
Accordingly, the image above is taken directly from the Department's website (now referred to as the Dept. of Home Affairs) and suggests that the minimum points required for the most recent round of Invitations for the Subclass 189 visa was 70 points. ​ Importantly, this is consistent with reports that those scoring 65 (being 5 above the pass mark) are still needing to wait months before receiving an Invitation in any given occupation. This is not to mention those highly competitive occupations, such as Finance and IT, which have an even higher points minimum to have any realistic chance of being Invited.   

The domino effect of this is that due to the increased competitiveness of the 189, migrants are now also seeking State/Territory Nominated options such as the 489 and 190. In my experience, these visas are an enigma. Everyone wants to know about them, but only a very small minority meet the requirements. Keep in mind that Australia has seven (7) States/Territories, each with their own ‘list’ of occupations they are looking to nominate into their State/Territory in addition to specific application guidelines, procedures, forms and even criteria for any given occupation. All of this combines to make State Nomination a marathon with many hurdles for anyone exploring this pathway.

However, the fact of the matter is that since all of the changes in 2017, migrants are now panicking, and understanding the limiting of Sponsored options, are now looking into State nominated pathways. We have seen a x10 increase in State nomination enquiries since April 2017, however, the percentage of enquirers that met any State requirements could be approximately be calculated at around 5%. This is reflective of recent trends where we find we are spending more time explaining to people why they aren’t eligible for a visa. In saying this, State Nominated pathways do still exist and migrants will still be eligible, however it will be the minority of those seeking it. Furthermore, the flow on effect from all this will also include the following:

• More people will apply for migration skills assessments required for most Skilled Visas (a win for the assessing authorities)
• More people will try and improve their IELTS/English scores to meet the increased points criteria for the 189, 489 and 190 (a win for the testing centers and English tutors)
• More people will apply for State Nomination which will increase competition for already limited positions which could lead to the increase of criteria by the States/Territories as they start to fill their vacancies quicker than before – or, it will lead to the removal of occupations altogether
• More migrants will move to regional locations and other States/Territories as they secure a State nomination (a win for the States/Territories)
• More migrants, arguably the majority of which will be international student visa holders or Graduate 485 visa holders, will not receive an Invitation to apply for the 189, 489 or 190 prior to the expiration of their current visa, leading to more non-genuine Student visa applications in an attempt to extend their stay ‘until they can get invited or find another option’ (a win for Education agents and short-term win for international colleges and tertiary institutions - discussed further below)
• This will lead to more Student visa refusals > more Student visa appeals > longer AAT processing for these kinds of appeals etc

Impact on Graduate 485 Visas 

In addition, as mentioned above, another visa which is impacted by these changes is the 485 Graduate visa available to international students who have studied certain qualifications for at least 2 years in Australia. This visa is currently available under 2 streams as explained below:

• Graduate Stream > for those who have completed trade qualifications or higher in an occupation on the MLTSSL (i.e the good list)
• Post-Study Stream > for those who have completed a Bachelor level of higher from an approved university/school

Let’s break these down a little more.
 
Graduate Stream

The fundamental requirement of this stream is that the international student have qualifications relevant to an occupation on the MLTSSL. Looking at the MLTSSL itself, we can generalize available occupation types as Construction, Child Care Management, Health Administration, Finance, Architecture/Surveying, Engineering, Agriculture, Veterinarian, Teaching, Medical/Health Professionals, Nursing, IT, Legal, Social Work and Trades.

Importantly, aside from Trade occupations, most of the remaining occupations on the MLTSSL require at least a Bachelor level qualification if a student is to be sufficiently qualified to obtain 485 Skills Assessment needed for this stream of the Graduate visa. Accordingly, this suggests that Vocational qualifications (such as non-trade related Diploma's or above) may be of little benefit to international students looking for a post-Student visa option independently of an employer. If I were a college offering non-trade vocational qualifications relying on the international student market, this would make me very nervous.
 
Post-Study Stream

The fundamental requirement of this stream is that the international student have completed a Bachelor level or higher qualification. This again provides that completing vocational qualifications may not assist a migrant in meaningful way with regards to opening doors to long term visa options, aside from perhaps acting as a qualifying course to a higher level qualification.
 
What Does this All Mean?
 
If we accept that Sponsored visas will be more difficult from March 2018 (which in my humble opinion is indisputable) then we must also accept that migrants, namely international Students (being one of the main temporary visa types held by non-Citizens in this country) will seek alternative pathways to stay permanently. If we accept that permanent Skilled visa options (189/190 and the temporary 489) will also become more competitive (which we can see that they already have), then we are left with the Graduate 485 as one possible way to extend your stay in the country. However, as indicated above, regardless of either stream chosen, unless the migrant has completed a trade qualification or Bachelor level degree it suggests that they may not be eligible for this visa.

Even if students are eligible and they do eventually get granted their 485 visa, what do they do next? The 485 is not an automatic pathway to residency and it has, in the past, been commonly used as another ‘vehicle’ allowing the visa holder to secure a pathway to permanent residency, which generally was Sponsored, Skilled or Family. Leaving aside Family options for a moment (which can be summarized as Partner or Parent visas – as indicated by the Statistics mentioned above) and noting the challenges surrounding Sponsored visas post-March 2018, this only leaves Skilled visas. However, we have discussed above that a Skilled visa is also not a walk in the park with increased competition and many requirements to be satisfied.
 
The question then is, who will commit to coming to Australia and completing a Bachelor or qualification in a field when the Australian Government has now committed to ‘continually re-evaluating the skilled occupation listed on a regular basis’? International students now face the very real possibility that at the time they commence their qualification their industry/occupation is on the 'good list' with prospects for permanent residency, however by the time they have finished (say, 2 – 3 years later) it has been removed and they are left stranded on a temporary 485 visa with limited Sponsored visa options and Skilled visas being even more remote.
 
What does this leave as a permanent or long stay visa option? I would respectfully suggest that it leaves open the door to the abuse of the Family visa streams, and specifically, an increase of the submission of Partner visa applications as migrants access potentially the only remaining option. 

Impact on Partner Visas
 
As mentioned above, Partner visas are the third remaining ‘most common pathway to permanent residency’. With the tightening of rules on Sponsored visas and the increase in competition for Skilled Visas, migrants will have limited options but to apply for Partner visas with their Australian partners. This is, of course, a legitimate and genuine visa option, however we predict the following:

1. Increased applications of Partner visas generally
2. Increased applications of Partner visas by couples that are not yet in a strong position to evidence their de facto or married relationship however are pressured by approaching visa expiry dates with little remaining options
3. The above two points will lead to an increase in the average processing times of these visas (which has already begun given that at the time of writing average processing times are advertised at being 25 months for 90% of applications (see here - http://www.border.gov.au/about/access-accountability/service-standards/global-visa-citizenship-processing-times). Keep in mind these were once upon a time around the 6-9 month range).
4. Increase in Civil Registrations of de facto couples in an attempt to strengthen Partner visa claims
5. Increase in Marriages in an attempt to strengthen Partner visa claims (a win for marriage celebrants)
6. Increase number of refusals of Partner visas due to the points raised above
7. Increased number of Partner visa refusal appeals to the AAT leading to increased waiting times for the AAT

What Does all This Mean?

In a nutshell, this means that things are about to get tougher. Visa options are narrowing and criteria for what is left is increasing. Australia has not shut its door entirely, however only very select  migrants may have the key to get in. Given these changes, in attempt to try and help as many as we can, we would invite any reader to join our private Facebook Group here. Inside you will find close to 1000 members and our team answering questions to help the community.

Leave an Enquiry

If you think you are eligible for a visa discussed above, please feel free to leave an enquiry below and our office will respond as quickly as possible.

​Martin Salvo
Director
MARN 1175200
Immigration Lawyer