Category: Immigration

Australia has recently introduced a few important changes to the Points Test for General Skilled Migration visas. The changes, that will come into effect on November 16, 2019, are relevant to existing Subclass 489, Skilled Independent – 189 and State Nominated Subclass – 190. The changes to the points test will also be relevant for the new Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Subclass 491 visa, which will also commence in 16 November 2019.

Points are awarded in Australia General Skilled Migration for eligibility factors that are linked with the applicant’s ability to make the greatest economic contribution to the Australian economy, as the Australian government’s key purpose of the skilled migration program is to maximize the economic benefits of migration to Australia.

However, in order to apply for the Skilled State (190) or Regional Nominated (190) visas, the applicants are still required to be nominated by a State or Territory. The applicant would also need to have a full skills assessment in an occupation that is on the State or Territory Skilled Occupation List.

By introducing these changes, the immigration authorities of Australia aim to ease the congestion in Australian cities and make more immigrants live and work in regional areas. The changes also indicate that Australian immigration gives preference to applicants who have a skilled partner competent in English or those who have no partner at all.

The major changes to the Points Test are:

• Applicants will receive 10 points for Specialist Educational qualifications. Currently, the applicants receive only 5 points for this criterion.
• Applicants with a skilled spouse or de facto partner will receive 10 points. However, the spouse must meet certain criteria. They must be below the age of 45 and be competent in English. They must undertake suitable skills assessment and their occupation must be on the same skilled occupation list. Currently, applicants with a skilled spouse get only 5 points.
• Applicants who do not have a spouse or de facto partner, or who have a spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen or a Permanent resident will receive 10 points. This new criterion has been added as part of the newly announced changes
• Another new addition is 5 points for applicants with a spouse or de facto partner who has competent English
• Applicants nominated by a State or Territory government, or sponsored by an eligible family member will receive 15 points. These points are awarded to applicants for a Subclass 489 visa or the new Subclass 491 visa. At present, these candidates receive only 10 points.

If all points except the partner qualifications are equal, the invitations will be ranked as below:

First: Applicants with a skilled spouse or de facto partner.

Equal First: Applicants without a spouse or de facto partner.

Second: Applicants with a spouse or de facto partner who demonstrates Competent English but who does not have the skills to obtain skilled partner points.

Third: Applicants with a spouse or de facto partner who is ineligible for either competent English or Skilled partner points.

Though the changes will come into effect only on 16th November 2019, the early legislation will help the potential immigrants to make their plans by the end of the year. However, it is important to check whether you are better or worse off as an immigration applicant after the change.

Contact us to know your options to migrate to Australia!

Immigration remains to be an important subject of political discussion in Australia, and it mostly centers around the annual permanent intake of Australia. Another important issue related to immigration is concentration of new immigrants in Australian cities such as Sydney and Melbourne that has led to the overcrowding of these cities. The issue has all the more significance at a time when regions in rural Australia are demanding more immigrants.

Now here are the major changes that we can expect in 2019 as far as Australia immigration is concerned.

Permanent immigration intake to come down:

Australia’s maximum immigration intake level has been remaining at 190,000 since 2011. But last year, the actual immigration intake was just over 162,000 with the cut in the family and skilled visas bringing down the intake level. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also in favour of retaining the annual immigration level at 16000. But he also wants to give more power to states and territories in deciding the immigration intake levels to their respective regions. Government is likely to take a decision on bringing down the federal immigration intake level after the Federal elections to be held this year.

New framework for sponsored family visas

Under the new sponsorship framework for family visas, the application process involves two steps. The first step is assessment of the sponsors. The visa application can be lodged as the second step only if the assessment result is positive. This new framework aims to protect vulnerable family members, especially children and married partners from their violent sponsors. The two-stage process also means applicants will have to wait longer to obtain partner visas. It is not yet clear whether partner visa application can be submitted along with application for sponsorship. If it is not possible, the applicant will have to wait for their sponsorship application to be approved for at least 12 weeks, before they can submit an application for Partner Visa.

A new temporary sponsored parent visa:

Australia will launch a new temporary sponsored visa for parents of the migrants that will allow them to stay in Australia for up to five years. The introduction of this new visa was announced in June 2016 before the last federal election. But it has not been introduced yet because the law linked to the visa could be passed only in November 2018.

The new visa allows parents of migrants to choose between a three-year visa that costs $5,000 and a five-year visa that costs $10,000. A maximum of 15,000 visas will be allowed to have single renewal every year.

Those who want to sponsor their parents to come to Australia must also ensure that the visiting parents have a health insurance. The sponsoring children are the financial guarantors of parents and they are responsible for repaying any debt to taxpayers caused by medical emergency.

You must also remember that migrant couple can sponsor only one set of parents under this visa.

A new pathway for low-skilled laborers with limited English:

The Federal Government has signed two Designated Area Migration Agreements with the Northern Territory and the Great Southern Coast of Victoria. These special agreements, aimed to address the labour needs of these regions, offer a pathway for permanent residency in Australia for semi-skilled migrants with limited English skills.

Australian Immigration Minister David Coleman has said that such agreements could be signed with more regions so that immigration better matches the labour market demands of the specific regions in Australia.

The Designated Area Migration Agreements lower the skills, language and income requirements for immigrants. As a result, semi-skilled migrant workers can access a pathway for permanent residency in Australia. The new pathway is being introduced at a time when there is huge demand for a standalone agriculture visa to meet the increasing demand for farm workers.

A special business visa:

A special business visa was introduced in November last year with an aim to boost the economy of South Australia. The visa is likely to gain more significance this year with more number of applicants. Unlike most of the other business and innovation visas, this visa does not require any capital outlay.

The Subclass 408 (Temporary Activity) visa endorsed by the federal government allows the holder and their family to stay in Australia for three years.

Priority will be given to businesses in the fields of defence and space, cyber security, big data, digital and blockchain, food, wine and AgTech, health and medical technology, robotics, media and film industries. However, those with business plans related other fields can also apply. The special visa program will continue till November 2021.

Interested in Australia immigration? Contact us for a free assessment to explore your options.

Canada, the most pursued country by immigrants did welcome and is welcoming potential immigrants to a great extent. With immigration pathways that are plenty enough & immigration requirements that are quite easy to get through, Canada is becoming an increasingly favourite destination among the potential immigrants.

Though there are thousands & thousands of people that make it to Canada every year, there still prevails the question of “Which is the Easiest Way to Immigrate to Canada?” Well, we would say that every Canadian Immigration Pathway is easy provided you meet the necessary program requirements. One such immigration program that you should definitely consider due to its minimum eligibility requirements is the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program’s Express Entry Stream.

What is the Alberta Immigration Nominee Program?

The Alberta Immigration Nominee Program (AINP) is a provincial nominee program like the other Canadian provinces has for itself. A provincial nominee program allows the province to look into the Express Entry Pool and select candidates who suit the needs of the province and Alberta is no different from the same. The Alberta Immigration Nominee Program is one of the best provincial nominee programs which is why you should definitely consider applying to this. Below listed are the three main requirements you should be meeting for the same:

Active Express Entry Profile: An Express Entry Profile is one of the basic eligibility requirements an individual should be having if he/she wants to immigrate to Canada. Creating an Express Entry Profile is no big deal and can be done with absolute ease (if you do not have an Express Entry Profile yet, get in touch with us today).

Minimum CRS Score of 300: One should know that an Express Entry Profile can be created only if he/she has a minimum score of 300 which means you have already met this criteria and you need not be worrying about the same.

In-Demand Occupation Within the Province: Your National Occupational Code should be falling under Alberta’s In-demand occupation list. Not to worry because Alberta needs plenty of skilled workers who fall under different occupational categories and chances are high that you fall under one of the categories (Reach out to us to know if you fall under the In-Demand Skilled Occupational List).

And once you have met all the requirements, the process behind is quite easy which is being mentioned right below:

• You should be applying for Alberta’s Immigration Nominee Program.
• The province will look into your profile and will be sending you a “Notification of Interest”
• On receiving a Notification of Interest, one must submit an application for AINP.
• And once you get nomination from Alberta you will get 600 additional CRS Scores which increases your chances to get an Invitation to Apply during the Canadian Express Entry Draws.

Quite easy isn’t it? So, why don’t you start off with it right away? Get in touch with our immigration experts today so that you don’t miss your golden ticket to immigrate to Canada!

On October 31, 2018, the first anniversary of announcing Canada’s first Multi-year Immigration Levels Plan for 2018-2020, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) brought out the updated Immigration Levels Plan for the years 2019-2021. As per the new plan, Canada will be welcoming 1.3 million new permanent residents by 2021. The increased target gives more hope for immigration aspirants as they expect that they would be able to obtain permanent residence in Canada in the near future.

Increased targets for each year

Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said that under the new plan, Canada was planning to welcome more talented workers with the skills and expertise Canadian economy needs, reunite more family members and accommodate more refugees looking to start new lives. The new plan targets to gradually increase the admission targets. The target for 2019 is 330800 and for 2020 is 341000. The targets for these years set in the previous plan were 330,000 and 340,000 respectively. The admission target for 2021 is upto 350000.

Immigration levels plan 2019-2021: Express Entry

As per the updated Immigration Levels Plan, 331,000 or almost a quarter of the total admission target of 1.3 million will be admitted to Canada through the three economic immigration classes managed by Express Entry. These economic immigration programs are: — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class.

Increasing the immigration targets through Express Entry in the coming years is expected to bring down the minimum Comprehensive Ranking Score(CRS) requirements and more invitations will be issued in each Express Entry draw.

Immigration levels plan 2019-2021: PNPs

Provincial Nominee Programs(PNPs), at the same time, have a combined target of 255,100 or almost 19 per cent of the 1.3 million total admissions. PNP admission targets will also have a gradual year-by-year increase, from almost 18 per cent in 2018 to 20.2 per cent in 2021. According to Ahmed Hussen, the role of PNPs in the extended Immigration Levels Plan was “developed in close consultation with provinces and territories, allowing them to bring in more people through their provincial nominee programs.”

Canadian provinces are vying to attract maximum number of immigrants who are capable of contributing to the growth of the community and the province’s economy.

Economic immigration programs

Around 60% of the total immigration target of 1.3 million will be through economic immigration programs.The two major economic immigration programs other than the three managed by Express Entry are the Atlantic Immigration Pilot and economic immigration programs of Quebec.

Family class immigration

The Canada government is committed to the cause of family reunification, which is reflected in their immigration policies. By 2021, Canada plans to admit a total of 270,500 spouses, common-law partners, dependent children, parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents through Family Class immigration programs. The target for admission through the Parents and Grandparents sponsorship program for the year 2019 is 20,500. The target for 2020 is 21000 and for 2021 is 21000.

Quebec immigration

In 2019, Quebec is planning to issue between 20200 and 24800 Quebec Selection Certificates (Certificate de séléction du Québec, or CSQs). Among these, skilled workers will receive between 12,500 and 15,000 CSQs, almost half of the total CSQs to be issued. Those who receive CSQ can apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Contact us for a free assessment to explore your options to migrate to Canada.