Minor changes to Migration Visas in 2015
It is anticipated that 2015 will bring some minor changes to the migration industry following the Government revision of the existing skilled and business visas.
New Immigration Minister
We started off a new year with the new Immigration Minister, Hon Peter Dutton, who has been sworn in as Australia’s new Immigration and Border Protection Minister in December last year.
Dutton, previously a Minister for Health and Sport, is also a former police detective and is described as a tough and no nonsense individual.
In following the footsteps of the previous Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton has already announced that he will take a stern approach on immigration crime but at the same time he will not change much from his predecessor.
New Temporary Work Visa to be Introduced
The Government is considering an introduction of a Short Term Mobility Visa category, which is designed to replace the existing category sc400 visa. (The sc400 visa allows skilled or specialist entrants to work for up to six weeks.)
The Short Term Mobility Visa is an one-year multiple entry visa for foreign skilled workers, which will not require current language and skill assessment of foreign workers and the employers will not be required to provide the evidence of the local labour market testing.
The proposed ‘short-term mobility’ subclass of visas would be most suitable for foreign correspondents and specialists workers through intra-company transfers. (Source: The Australian Financial Review)
This visa scheme would allow companies to fast forward the 457 skilled worker visas by bringing employees to Australia for up to one year without the effort of applying for standard 457 employer sponsored visas.
So far, there has been a mixed reaction in Australia to this proposal.
Alternative English Language Test
Cambridge Test, an ‘Advanced Test of English’ is to be accepted from 1 January 2015 as an alternative English language test.
This introduction represents another testing alternative to applicants who are struggling to reach the required score in the IELTS test of English language ability.
(Source:http://www.immi.gov.au/news/pages/aelt.aspx)
BzMark News
Late last year, BzMark has extended its offices into Melbourne and the Sydney CBD with the view to offer better quality face-to-face representation when it is required.
During 2015, BzMark team will continue to serve the specialised needs of the migration industry with some new offers in the pipeline. As a prominent Australian business consultancy we will extend our services into preparation of comprehensive feasibility studies and also offer customised investment portfolios to selected overseas investors.
BzMark recently visited China, presenting investment opportunities in Farming and Australian based food processing plants. Currently there is much interest from the Asian business community to make strategic investments in Australia. Particular interest is in the area of existing producing farms that can be purchased as going concerns. The agricultural produce is often exported back to Asia.
BzMark has a highly experienced team of business professionals who locate and acquire these types of businesses for overseas investors. We also offer ongoing management of these businesses ensuring that the operations are functioning efficiently on a day-to-day basis. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you believe these services could be beneficial to your clients.
Last year has seen an increased investment into Australia (around 2.9 Billion) under the SIV, 188c visa subclass. China (incl. Hong Kong) remains the predominant country source for the Significant Investment Scheme, accounting for around 90% of the total foreign investment. Under this scheme, Victoria has the highest number of SIV-visas granted at 327, followed by NSW at 201 and Queensland at 35. Since the introduction of this visa to date, a total of 2,001 applications have been lodged and only quarter of them, exactly 595 SIV’s have been granted.
There is an increasing amount of SIV applicants that invest in existing companies. BzMark is offering services in this area, from identifying suitable business investments, preparing feasibility studies and conducting due diligence on the proposed SIV investment. We also prepare the SIV business plan to assist with the client’s migration application.