The year in review: Australian immigration in 2019
It was another eventful year with several major developments in Australia’s immigration policy. The re-election of the Federal Coalition government in May 2019 meant that there would be little shift in this policy area. As we draw closer to the end of the year, we look back at what was new in 2019 as well as some of the things that remain unchanged.
What was new in 2019?
Temporary sponsored parent visa
In July 2019, the Federal Government introduced the subclass 870 temporary sponsored parent visa. This visa allows parents of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen to enter and stay in Australia for a period of up to 3 or 5 years. It was designed primarily to allow parents to stay in Australia to help support their children in caring for grandchildren in Australia. The child of the visa applicant must be an approved sponsor before they are able to apply for the visa. The cost for the visa is $5,000 for a 3 year visa or $10,000 for a 5 year visa. Current processing times are between 60 to 79 days.
Increases to visa application charges
On 1 July 2019, the Department of Home Affairs applied a Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate increase as well as a 5.4% increase to the fees for almost all visa applications except for the visitor visa (Subclass 600) and the second instalment for the contributory parent visas. This resulted in an increase of as little as $45 for student visa applications lodged on or after 1 July 2019 to as high as a $555 increase for partner visa applications.
New regional visas
In November 2019, two new regional visas were added to Australia’s immigration program. These visas were introduced to encourage migrants to move to regional areas of Australia. The subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional visa is a points based tested visa, where applicants would need to score at least 65 points to have a chance of being invited to apply for the visa. A nomination by a state or territory government agency or sponsorship by an eligible relative is required.
The subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa is an employed sponsored visa, in which the applicant is required to be sponsored by an approved employer in a designated regional area in Australia. Applicants will need to have at least 3 years of full-time experience in their nominated occupation. For both regional visas, applicants need to be under the age of 45, have competent English skills and have a positive skills assessment for their nominated occupation. After 3 years, holders of the subclass 491 and 494 visa who have lived, worked and studied in a designated regional area in Australia will be eligible to apply for the subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa.
Increases to financial capacity for student visa applicants
On 23 October 2019, the Federal Government raised the level of financial capacity required for student visa applicants. Primary student visa applicants are now required to show at least $21,041 AUD in available funds to meet living costs and expenses if they intend to stay for 12 months or more. In addition to this, they need to show sufficient funds available to meet their travel expenses. If there are any secondary applicants, evidence of funds to cover the living costs for the partner of $7,362 AUD and $3,152 AUD for a dependent child. Also, if dependents are school age then funds to meet the school fees of $8,296 AUD will need to be available.
More Working Holiday Visa places available
There was an increase in the number of working holiday visa places in 2019 for specific passport holders (Subclass 417 and 462 visas). The number of places for Singaporean citizens rose from 500 to 2,500. For citizens of Peru, this increased from 100 to 1,500 and for Chilean passport holders from 2,000 to 3,400 places. Also, Greece was added to the working holiday visa program with 500 places available for Greek citizens from 1 July 2019. In addition, a third year visa option for working holiday visa holders who complete six months of regional work in their second year was introduced.
Much of the same
No change to the partner visa sponsorship process, yet!
After much discussion in 2018, there was an expectation that the Federal Government would introduce a two step process for partner visa applications. The first step in the process would require the Australian citizen or permanent resident sponsor to lodge their sponsorship for approval. Only once the sponsorship is approved, is the overseas partner able proceed to the second step which is to apply for the partner visa. This change would have had huge consequences for partner visa applicants who held visas that were close to expiring. As of today, there has been no indication on when or whether the Federal Government will be implementing these changes.
Permanent visa numbers remain steady
As expected with the re-election of the Coalition government, Australia’s migration program planning levels remain capped at 160,000 permanent places for the 2019-20 year. Out of the 160,000, it is expected that just over 108,000 will be allocated to skilled visa places and over 47,000 will be allocated to family visa places comprising mostly of partner visas. In 2015-16, a target of 190,000 permanent visa places was set, however over the past few years the annual intake has dropped steadily. The Department of Home Affairs is yet to release its official permanent intake figures for 2018-19, however it is widely expected to fall short of its annual ceiling of 160,000.
See you all in 2020!
The team at Titan Migration would like to wish you all a safe and happy holiday season over the Christmas and New Year period. Our office will be closed from 23 December 2019 and we will return on 6 January 2020. If you need to contact us over the holiday break, you can contact us via our website and we will respond to you upon our return.
About Peter Chang
Peter Chang is a registered migration agent based in the Western Sydney hub of Parramatta, Australia. He is the co-founder of Titan Migration, a consultancy specialising in providing Australian immigration advice and visa assistance services.