VISA APPLICATIONS

Our aim is simplify the visa application process and ensure the efficient processing of your matter with the Australian Department of Immigration.

Our Visa Applications Service includes the following:

  • Your individual circumstances will be assessed by an experienced Registered Migration Agent to ensure that you can meet the requirements.
  • You will be formally advised in writing of your case for Migration and we will provide you with a complete list of all the documentation required for your particular application.
  • All required documentation will be thoroughly checked to ensure their compliance with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection requirements.
  • Your application will be professionally presented to the Australian Government and Department of Immigration and Border Protection. This will involve the provision of forms that are thoroughly checked, professionally typed and supporting evidence appropriately presented.
  • Your application will be presented with professionally drafted Legal Submissions prepared by an experienced Registered Migration Agent to comprehensively address Australian Migration Law/regulations and your particular case for Migration to Australia.
  • We will provide you with comprehensive guidance on obtaining medicals, police clearances and English language testing.
  • Addition of family members to your application.
  • We will liaise with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to ensure that a speedy decision is made on your matter.

In addition, applicants applying for work visas:

  • We will assist with the occupation selection and determination of skills requirement for your occupation.
  • Assessment of your skills including review of your qualifications and work experience.
  • Qualifications and employment references checked so that they meet the requirements of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Applying for an Australian Visa is not something to be undertaken lightly. The maze of legal requirements, numerous forms and required evidence often leaves applicants with a feeling that they are drowning in red tape. The strict requirements of Australian Migration Law mean that there is little room for error. It is not unusual for clients to come to us after they have tried to do it themselves only to lose thousands of dollars and realising that they were going about it completely the wrong way. There are serious consequences in getting it wrong. In addition to losing your money, you may be barred from making another application for a period of up to three years or deported from Australia if you become unlawful. Rest assured when you use our Visa Application Service everything will be made straight forward and you will know exactly where you stand.

It is not unusual that a Case Officer from the Department of Immigration will seek further information or clarification on your matter. Our familiarity and expertise with Australian Migration Law, Policy and Procedures ensures a professional is on your side who will keep you informed at all stages of the Migration process and will be able to assist with all matters that may arise.

When you appoint us to act on your behalf we become your representative to the Australian Government and the Department of Immigration. This has significant advantages for you, not least our familiarity with Migration Law and Policy, decision making processes and procedures and information not ordinarily known to the public.

We are specialists in the following areas:

SERVICES

Business Sponsorship and Nominations 

As a firm that specialises in Employer Sponsored Migration our clients appreciate our familiarity and proven success with this area of practice. This area of practice necessitates advisors who understand that every business is different and legal solutions need to be found to complicated scenarios.

We have been practicing in this area exclusively for almost a decade now and our previous clients have found our advice invaluable. Our proven experience with small, medium and large business across numerous industry sectors ensures our clients piece of mind that they are dealing with professionals in this area.

We assist with all aspects of obtaining approval for Business Sponsorship under Australian Migration Law. We provide advice on all the legal criteria and documentation required to obtain Sponsorship approval for a business in Australia or businesses operating overseas.

This is a complicated area of practice and it is strongly advised that you seek professional advice before pursuing approval for a business to sponsor employees for Migration.

In a typical Business Sponsorship we regularly assist with the following:

  • Assessment and advice regarding the circumstances of the business
  • Financial statement analysis to meet Department of Immigration and Border Protection requirements.
  • Meeting the training requirement, selection of relevant industry training funds and assistance with the provision of Auditable Training Plans.
  • Compliance and Business Sponsor Obligations.
  • Relevant ASIC and ATO/ABN searches.
  • Provision of templates required for many circumstances.
  • Drafting of Legal Submissions in support of the application.
  • Completion of forms for submission.

In a typical Nomination we regularly assist with the following:

  • Selection of the correct occupation for the position in the business.
  • Meeting Labour Market Testing requirements.
  • Assessing Market Salary rates with peak industry organizations, relevant Awards, Industrial Instruments and Salary Surveys.
  • Employment Contract assessment to meet Department of Immigration and Border Protection requirements.

The Australian government imposes a number of obligations an approved Business Sponsor must comply with. We assist our clients to understand and comply with these obligations.

Please click the links below for information on Employer Sponsored Visas

 Migration Advice and Assessment 

Ordinarily, your first contact with us will require an assessment of your circumstances and how we can help you in accordance with the provisions of Australian Migration Law.

As part of an assessment we will review your individual circumstances and determine your eligibility according to the most up to date Australian Migration law. It may be the case that you or a business may not be immediately eligible; in this scenario we can provide advice on how you may achieve your goals and what you can do to ensure success.

Our clients appreciate our ability to provide the most up to date and comprehensive advice and our expertise means that we can offer state of the art strategic advice to visa applicants and business.

Most matters can be resolved over the phone or Skype but for those that would like to meet face to face in our offices, please call (02) 8324 1423 to organise your appointment.

MIGRATION REVIEW APPEALS

Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Appeal

You may have the option to lodge an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal where your visa application has been refused or your visa has been cancelled. Your notification letter from the Department of Immigration will ordinarily indicate your appeal rights and the time limits in which you must lodge your appeal.

There are strict time limits to lodge an appeal so it is very important that you seek accurate advice as soon as you receive your refusal or visa cancellation letter from the Department of Immigration. You must ensure that an application for review is submitted within the time period provided by law.

Where your visa application is refused the AAT review is like a second chance to apply where the tribunal member sits in the place of the original decision maker. This allows you to put additional evidence in support of your application, particularly if it was lacking or missing in the initial application, which is not unusual where the original visa application was made without the assistance of a Registered Migration Agent.

Where your visa is cancelled you can show reasons why your visa should not have been cancelled and submit evidence in support of that decision.

Should I lodge an application for review and how we can help you?

In order to win your AAT appeal, you need to demonstrate that you satisfy the legal requirement which your case officer decided was not satisfied.  We can assess your individual circumstances and help you determine whether you can satisfy the requirement that has lead to the refusal of your application – this will enable you to determine whether you should proceed with the AAT application. Migration Law and policy often involves the application of discretionary factors in deciding your case. Your circumstances may indicate that in your case there are good reasons why your visa should not have been refused or cancelled and your AAT application would address these reasons.

Ministerial Intervention

Ministerial Intervention is the fail safe system built into Australia’s Migration Law. It enables the Minister to make a decision favourable to the applicant once all avenues of appeal have been exhausted, either from the Tribunals or Courts. The decision is made by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection personally.

Such applications are extremely complex and require a great deal of preparation from an experienced Migration Agent. Please contact us so that we may review your eligibility.

S501 – Cancelation of Visa on Character Grounds

S501 of the Migration Act imposes a Character Test on visa applicants. Applicants must be able to pass the Character Test or else satisfy the decision maker that nevertheless there are reasons why they should be granted a visa.

A person can subsequently have their visa cancelled because of criminal offences that they have committed.

If you have received a Notice of Intention to consider cancelling your visa on Character grounds or you fear that your past criminal conduct may prohibit you from obtaining a visa you should contact us to assess your options.

The clients we have represented in these scenarios have often faced visa refusal and possible deportation. Our expertise in this area has enabled our clients to deal successfully with these stressful scenarios.

SKILLS ASSESSMENT

Skills Assessment Authorities have been appointed by the Australian Government to assess applicant’s work experience and/or qualification for the purpose of satisfying the Skill requirement in many visa applications.

Successfully completed Skills Assessments can be required at the time you make your visa application (to comply with valid application requirements) or prior to a decision being made on your visa application i.e. you may complete a Skills Assessment application after you have lodged your visa application.

Circumstances where a Skills Assessment may be required are:

  • Applying directly for a Permanent Work 186 visa.
  • Applying for a Temporary 457 Work visa, where your nominated occupation and country of origin will determine if a skills assessment will be required
  • Applying for a 485 Graduate Visa
  • Applying for a General Skilled Migration 189/190 Visa

Often a Skills Assessment used for one purpose may not be used for another (e.g. a Skills Assessment completed for a 485 Graduate visa will not be valid for a permanent work visa or General Skilled Migration.
There are a number of exceptions where a Skills Assessment may not be required, for example;

  • Your Nominated Occupation does not require a Skills Assessment
  • The Salary on offer to the visa applicant is above a certain threshold
  • The occupation may be located in a designated regional area, such as the Regional Sponsored 187 Work Visa and your occupation is exempt
  • Policy provides an exception
  • Nominated in the occupation of Senior Academic, Scientist, University lectures and Ministers of Religion under the Permanent Work 186 and 187 visas
  • New Zealand citizens who have worked for their sponsoring employer for at least two years in the nominated occupation
  • Policy provides an exceptions provided for the Temporary 457 Work visa – already hold a 457 visa in the nominated occupation, or hold a relevant Australian Qualification, or hold the required licencing/registration, or seeking to fill a nominated occupation which is an intra-company transfer and the visa applicant is currently employed in a similar occupation for the same company overseas

Requirements

Each Skills Assessment Authority and each individual occupation has different requirements for a successful application. In addition, each assessment authority has different requirements for the documentation that needs to be supplied.

We simplify the Skills Assessment process by advising you of the requirements and the documentation needed to satisfy those requirements.

migration-services/8503-no-further-stay-waiver/

Many visas are granted with a Condition 8503 attached to them. This condition prevents you from making a further visa application while you remain in Australia. The policy rational, in part, for this is to prevent people coming to Australia on a visitor visa (although they can be imposed on a number of temporary visas) and then simply making another visa application to extent your stay.

Migration law and policy provides a number of exceptions to allow you to apply for a waiver of this condition and thereby enable you to make a further visa application in Australia.

In short, you must show the following to be successful in obtaining a waiver of condition 8503:

  • There are compelling and compassionate reasons justifying the waiver of the condition, because;
  • There has been a material change in your circumstances since the grant of your last visa, and
  • That material change in your circumstances was beyond your control.

Importantly, a waiver of condition 8503 must be sought at the time your visa application is made.

This is a complex area highlighted by the following example. If you came to Australia on a visitor visa and you met and fell in love and entered into a relationship with an Australian and then subsequently fell pregnant, you may think that there are good reasons why you should be able to make a partner visa application while you are in Australia. You might argue that falling in love with an Australian and wanting to remain with them would be compelling and it would be compassionate to allow you to remain. Furthermore, you may think that falling pregnant was a material change in your circumstances.

However, falling pregnant is not considered a circumstance beyond your control according to migration policy. As a result, you would be unable to obtain the waiver and remain in Australia. You would have to leave Australia.

The example given above is but one that the policy specifically addresses, however there may be a number of circumstances in which you may find yourself that would come within the policy guidelines, or if not addressed specifically by policy, you may have an arguable case.

It is very important that when seeking a waiver of condition 8503 that all the circumstances of your case are considered. Great care and preparation must be made to ensure that your case is assessed on its individual merits and appropriate documentation supplied to the Department of Immigration.