Visa Processing Newsletter

Welcome to the Visa Processing Newsletter for August 2008.

"Learn to smile at every situation. See it as an opportunity to prove your strength and ability." (Author unknown)

In this month's newsletter there are a number of articles that will keep you abreast of any changes, policy, legislative or otherwise, that may have an effect on your visa application.

Visa Processing Information for Australia, New Zealand and Canada available on the Network Migration website.

With the advent of on line residency applications, particularly for Australia, it is incredibly important to be aware of the process involved in the assessing of your application and the time frames for decisions to be made.

This information will enable you to effectively plan for your emigration such as schooling for your children, selling your house, booking flights and booking your removals. Network Migration has posted all processing information for all countries in the client section of our website.

Australia update this information on a weekly basis and New Zealand make fortnightly selections from the Expression of Interest Pool. Canada publish processing times based on world regions.

Please visit www.networkmigration.co.za for further information and be sure to use your log in and password to enable you to visit the secure client section.

Over the past month or so there have been changes in immigration policy for Australia that certainly benefit those of you who are currently thinking about relocating through means of a work permit visa.

Temporary Business Long Stay ( 457) Visas : Recent statistics

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Australia has announced an increase of nearly 27% of temporary work permits granted in the 2007/2008 year when compared to the last year. Approximately 110,570 visas were issued under this scheme showing an increased focus from employer's in Australia to combat the current skills shortage by employing skilled workers from abroad.

In recent data released by the Department of Immigration, Western Australia benefited the most from the increase in work permit applications, showing a 41% increase in applications made to the State. New South Wales however remains the most popular state for international skilled workers with nearly 25,000 work permits issued.

Increase in minimum salary levels for skilled workers.

Senator Chris Evans announced that the minimum salary levels for 457 visas have increased by 3.8% from 1 August 2008. The new salary levels are AUD$43, 440 per annum for general positions and AUD$59, 480 per annum for Information and Computing Technology professionals.

Minimum salary levels for Employer Nomination Sponsored (ENS ) visas have also been increased by 3.8% as from 1 August 2008 . The minimum salary for general occupations will increase to AUD$43,440 per annum and AUD$59,477 per annum for Information and Computing Technology professionals. These levels will only apply to positions nominated under this scheme from 1 August 2008.

Student Visa Assessment Levels Change

In a release by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Australia, a record number of student visas were issued in the year 2007/ 2008 with the total number being 278, 000. This represents a 21% increase on the previous year.

There are 5 assessment levels with the Student visa and each assessment level represents a risk posed by an applicant of a particular country studying in a particular education sector. Assessment 1 is the lowest immigration risk and Assessment 5 is the highest immigration risk. The higher the risk the more in depth the evidence that needs to be submitted to support the application for a study visa. Assessment levels are based on an examination of the compliance levels.

South Africa is currently Assessment levels 1 and 2 depending on the subclass of the visa being applied for showing that South African applicants are a low risk group and have a high compliance rate to the conditions of their visas.

New assessment levels will be effective from 1 September 2008 with 52 countries being re assessed and of those 43 have received lower assessment levels indicating that it will be easier for applicants from those countries to receive study visas.

For further information please visa the Media Department at www.immi.gov.au.

Essential skills in Demand List for New Zealand.

Immigration New Zealand has made adjustments to the way the Long Term Skills Shortage List ( LTSSL) and the Immediate Skill Shortage List ( ISSL) can be viewed on line. The combined list will be called the Essential Skills in Demand Lists.

The lists are available at www.immigration.govt.nz/essentialskills or via www.immigration.govt.nzin the Latest News Section.

Allocation of places within the New Zealand Residence Programme

The New Zealand Government has agreed to the following levels for 2008/2009:

1. It was agreed to maintain the New Zealand Residence Programme (NZRP) 2008/9 at the current level of 45,000 – 50,000 places.

2. It was agreed to increase the annual allocation for Parent, Adult Child and Adult sibling policies from 10% to approximately 11%

3. It was agreed to decrease the annual allocation for Partner and Dependent child from 21% to approximately 20%.

Migrant Levy for children under 5 decreases

The migrant levy for applicants under the General Skills category, Skilled Migrant Category, the Residence from Work category, the Investor category, the Entrepreneur category, Employees of relocating business category, the Family category and the Family Quota category and the Special residence for Zimbabwean citizens is NZ$300 for each person aged 5 years and over and NZD$150 for each person under 5 years of age. The maximum migrant levy payable per family for one application is the sum of the migrant levy amounts payable by the oldest four family members included in the application.

For further information please visit Latest News at www.immigration.govt.nz

And finally some housekeeping:

Appointments – If you require a meeting with your Client Services Manager, Job Search Consultant or Relocations Consultant, please ensure that you book an appointment. This will ensure that you meet with the staff member you are wishing to speak to. Clients visiting our offices without appointments may be disappointed if the person they wish to see is unable to meet with them. If you are dropping off documents at reception, please ensure you clearly label the documents to whom they must be forwarded to.

Training –Network Migration is committed to ensuring the ongoing training of all their staff members. This allows us to offer our clients exceptional customer service and ensure that all staff are kept fully up to date with any changes in regulations and current trends in migration. Internal training takes place every Friday between 11am-1.30pm so please be aware that staff will not be available to take calls during this time.