1. WA government accuses federal government of ‘dropping the ball’ on skilled migration

    May 27, 2011 by oe-admin

    Western Australia’s state government has called on the federal government to expand the regional skilled migration model that restricts applicants of certain Australian visas to live and work in regional parts of the state.

    Under the present system, the majority of Western Australia is considered ‘regional’ and is therefore a viable option for holders of these visas to migrate to, but Perth and surrounding suburbs are not categorised in such a way and are subsequently ‘off-limits’ to holders of regional sponsorship (e.g. subclass 475 visa holders).

    Peter Collier, the WA Minister for Energy, Training and Workforce Development, said that the federal government is ‘dropping the ball’ on skilled migration, pointing out that the state is not just regional but is ‘remote’.

    ‘We do not need the federal government to tell us what the problem is when our workforce needs are unique’, he said. ‘We need a huge number of workers of all kinds – unskilled and skilled.’

    The Australian Financial Review reports that Western Australia currently has resources and infrastructure projects worth an estimated AU$225 billion under construction or planned in the state, and concerns are that labour shortages could have an economic impact if workers are not found to meet demand for skills.

    A spokesman for Chris Bowen, the federal Immigration Minister, said that the policy could be revised in the future, allowing Perth to be recognised as a possible destination for regional skilled migrants.

    For more information on skilled visas for Australia, please visit our website on a regular basis for the latest developments.

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  2. New Australian visa plan unveiled for July 2012

    May 26, 2011 by oe-admin

    From July 2012, all independent skilled migrants will have to ask permission before lodging their applications to Australia.

    Beginning in July 2012, all independent skilled migrants will have to lodge an online expression of interest and wait to receive an invitation before they can make a formal application for migration.

    The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website states the following concerning the new policy, to be called the Skilled Migrant Selection Model:

    ‘The Australian Government has decided on a major reform in the way Australia selects skilled migrants, the Skilled Migrant Selection Model (the Model). The Model will build upon and draw together the suite of reforms to the skilled migration program over the past three years. In doing so it will deliver the skills Australia needs by matching the best and brightest migrants to the available places in the migration program.

    The Model will be an electronic system based upon a two-stage process. Prospective applicants first submit claims for skilled migration through an online EOI and subsequently may be invited to make a visa application. This is a significant change from the current situation, as applicants for independent or state/territory sponsored migration will be required to receive an invitation in order to lodge a visa application.

    Once invited, the Model will ensure a match between the number of applicants and the number of available program places. This will result in streamlined processing times.’

    For more information on skilled visas for Australia, please visit our website on a regular basis for the latest developments.

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  3. Simplified visa process unveiled for NZ investors

    May 24, 2011 by oe-admin

    For migrants who invest $10 million in New Zealand, recent changes to the visa process include a reduction in the number of days they have to spend in the country on an annual basis, from 73 days to 44 days in total.

    Bank bond investments and equity will also be recognised as acceptable, and business migrants will also need to meet only one of the two requirements of either having managed a business with five full-time employees or a business with at least a $1 million annual turnover (rather than having to meet both requirements, as was previously the case).

    The most significant change is that funds can now be transferred through foreign exchange companies, not just banks, and residential property (as opposed to the migrant’s own home) can now be acknowledged as an ‘acceptable investment’.

    The New Zealand business migration announcement was made by Immigration Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman.

    ‘The marketing of our business migration package will target key OECD markets including the United Kingdom and the United States. We’re also looking at the major developing markets in India and Southeast Asia’, he said.

    Dr Coleman continued: ‘My number one priority has been to ensure immigration is contributing to the Government’s economic growth agenda’.

    For more information on New Zealand skilled visas, please visit our website.

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  4. Australia experiences employment surge

    May 20, 2011 by oe-admin

    Employment prospects for potential migrants are continuing to improve with the latest figures showing that Australia’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.9%.

    The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly labour force report indicated that 40,000 new jobs were created in March this year.

    Around two-thirds of the new jobs were in the resource-rich states of Western Australia and Queensland.

    Australia’s employment minister, Chris Evans, welcomed the news, saying that the country now had a record number of people in employment.

    ‘In the previous twelve months, more than 300,000 full time jobs have been created’, Evans said.

    ‘The number of jobs in Australia has surged by 32,100 and this is an outstanding result that reflects the success of our economic strategy and the fundamental strength of our economy.’

    For more information on skilled visas for Australia, please visit our website.

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  5. Wellington is world’s coolest (little) capital

    by oe-admin

    New Zealand’s capital city has been named as the ‘coolest little capital in the world’.

    Wellington is a city with a population of just under 200,000, centered on the southernmost area of North Island.

    Wellington is a city of cultural distinction and opportunities that welcomes migrants and strives to ensure their success. Statistics from Immigration New Zealand indicate that one in four people living in the Wellington region has been born overseas. The region is attractive to migrants due to the fact that it offers a wide range of employment opportunities but is restrained by having an ageing workforce.

    Around 77% of jobs are found in Wellington City, and it is popular to commute to the city from surrounding areas such as Porirua, the Kapiti Coast, Lower Hutt, and Upper Hutt.

    Business services such as finance, accounting, banking, HR and sales form the largest employment sector in Wellington, employing over 21% of the workforce.

    Other major industries include government, education, construction, engineering, health, trades and ICT.

    For more information on New Zealand skilled visas, please visit our website.

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  6. New Zealand experiences skills shortage

    May 17, 2011 by oe-admin

    Over 80% of businesses in New Zealand are currently experiencing staff shortages and expect the situation to become worse over the course of this year.

    The New Zealand economy has seen increased growth and businesses are employing more staff to cope; however, talent problems are becoming an issue as staff cannot be trained quickly enough to handle the growing number of skilled roles that are available.

    Skilled worker roles, such as managers, IT professionals and accountants are all in high demand, and employers are being advised to consider looking for overseas for workers who can meet their requirements.

    For more information on New Zealand skilled visas, please visit our website.

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  7. Western Australia calls for more skilled migrants

    by oe-admin

    The resources industry in Western Australia is in desperate need of 34,000 additional migrants by the end of next year, according to a new report by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

    Its ten year forecast of labour requirements within WA’s oil & gas and mining sectors calls for an increase in skilled migration in order to maintain production levels, and estimates that the state will experience a skills shortage of 150,000 workers in the next six years.

    The government has responded by introducing the Western Australian Skilled Migration Strategy which includes initiatives to help attract overseas skilled workers.

    According to Peter Collier, Training and Workforce Development Minister for Western Australia, the strategy ‘allows the state to sponsor 6000 skilled migrants this year for high demand occupations’.

    For more information on skilled visas for Australia, please visit our website.

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  8. Former Canadian immigration director calls for migrant increase

    May 16, 2011 by oe-admin

    A former director of Federal-Provincial Relations at Immigration Canada, Robert Vineberg, has asked the Canadian Government to ‘start talking about how to make the policy changes necessary to responsibly increase Canada’s annual immigration intake’.

    Mr Vineberg is now a Research Fellow at the Canada West Foundation, an organisation which aims to bring the perspectives of Western Canada to national policy debates. Mr Vineberg has previously held a number of prominent positions with Immigration Canada, including Director of Federal-Provincial Relations and Director, Immigration Case Analysis.

    Mr Vineberg is arguing that, due to Canada’s own population and labour force growth stagnating, the country should now look to increase the number of arrivals coming via Canadian immigration.

    The call comes as a result of Canada’s major political parties failing to address the over-arching issue of how many immigrants Canada needs, despite all of them expressing support for an increase in migrant numbers.

    Mr Vineberg said: ‘Most provinces, and particularly the western provinces, want to increase their population and see increased immigration as a major way to do so. The way to expand the federal immigration streams is not to freeze growth in provincial programs but to increase overall levels during the next several years.

    ‘An increase in immigration levels by 50,000 to 300,000 per year would bring the ratio back to the 0.87% figure of two decades ago. An increase of 100,000 to 350,000 per year would see Canada finally achieve the one-percent-per-year goal that all parties ostensibly espouse.’

    For more information on Canadian visas, please visit our website.

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  9. Australian budget to increase migrant intake

    May 11, 2011 by oe-admin

    The Australian Federal Budget has been announced today, with migrant places for the 2011/12 programme increased to 185,000. There will also be a more focused approach to regional Australian visas in order to fill skills shortages.

    The rise to 185,000 Australian visa places is an increase from the 2010/11 season, which had 180,000 places. It is seen as a positive sign of growth after a period where the global financial crisis had weakened the Australian economy and migration places were being limited.

    Wayne Swan, the Treasurer of Australia and Deputy Prime Minister, said there was a need to ‘attract highly-skilled migrants to live and work in regional Australia’.

    16,000 of the new migrants will be used to fill skills shortages in regional areas under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen was enthusiastic about the changes, saying ‘for the first time, the Federal Government will specifically allocate permanent visas for regional areas’.

    The Minister continued: ‘The patchwork nature of the Australian labour market means it’s important to recognise unique local circumstances and tailor migration solutions accordingly’.

    The news comes after a warning that huge skills shortages could be on the horizon due to Australia’s resources boom, with a report by Skills Australia estimating that 2.4 million more skilled workers will be needed within the next four years in order to keep the recovery on track.

    The Australian Government is also committed to developing a new model for selecting skilled migrants, which is set to be put into effect on 1st of July next year.

    For more information on skilled visas for Australia, please visit our website.

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  10. South Australia removes four occupations from SSML

    May 10, 2011 by oe-admin

    The South Australian Government has announced that FOUR occupations on their State Sponsored Migration List (SSML) have reached their Planning Levels and are no longer available for Sponsorship.

    All applications which have not had decisions made on them will now be refused, regardless of whether they have been lodged already.

    The occupations that have reached their Planning levels and no longer available for Sponsorship are listed below.  They are also being removed from the updated SSML posted on the Migration South Australia website.

     233999 – Engineering Professionals nec

     254499 – Registered Nurse nec

     263111- Computer Network and Systems Engineer

     391111 – Hairdresser

    South Australia (SA) advises clients to monitor www.migration.sa.gov.au for the new Sponsorship List, criteria and requirements for the new program year which commences on 1st July 2011.  As soon as these matters have been finalised and approved, they will be posted on the SA website and the Sponsorship Application System re-opened soon after.

    For more information on skilled visas for Australia, please visit our website.

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