Question: I am currently separated from my husband, but still legally married, and now in a new de facto relationship. Is it possible to get a spouse visa with my new Australian partner?
Complex situations involving past and previous relationships are actually quite common these days. Having worked previously for the Department of Immigration at the beginning of my career and privately consulting for over 13 years now, I think I can comfortably say, that I have probably encountered every possible complexity when it comes to relationships and navigating the migration legislation for clients.
So for this particular question, the short answer is yes it is possible.
There are some things to consider when trying to determine if you are going to be eligible to apply for an Australian Spouse Visa because you can easily stumble with an application and get a visa refusal.
Here are the 4 critical things you must consider in a married / new de-facto situation:
The reason you have to know the above information is that the start date of your new relationship can only be recognized "after" the date of your separation with your husband.
This is crucial because you need to also have been with your new de-facto partner for at least 12 months in order to satisfy the de-facto relationship requirement UNLESS you have exceptional circumstances (such as a new child of your new relationship, or if you have been able to "register" your relationship with one of the Australian State/Territory government's Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages).
If you have a complex situation and you're not sure that you can navigate the legal requirements, then don't risk trying to do it yourself.
Get help and contact us at solutions@visaone.com.au or 1300 619 977.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: How do I prove the "market salary" requirement for employer sponsored visas? What is the minimum salary to nominate someone on a 457?
Ok firstly, let's deal with the minimum salary question first. The minimum salary threshold for the 457 visa at the moment is $53,900 (gross base salary, not including superannuation). Yes, it does include tax, in case you are wondering.
What most people struggle with is the requirement of having to prove that the salary being offered is equivalent to the "Market Rate".
There are two ways to demonstrate if your offered salary is equivalent to the Market Rate:
Option 1: You can show the employment contract of an existing Australian employee in the business, that earns the same as person you are intending to sponsor, who is in the same occupation as the person you are intending to nominate.
Option 2: You can show external market rate evidence to demonstrate that the offered salary is equivalent to what other Australians are getting in the same occupation AND in the same location (area/region) as the position. This can include salary surveys, advertised job advertisements, published industry salary rates (award wages) and other public evidence.
Here are some hot sites to where you can find reliable external evidence:
I hope that helps.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question is “What is the training benchmark for your business?”
Question: Am I eligible to sponsor (as a business)? What are training benchmarks?
Rather than regurgitating what is explained on the official immigration website, I am going to answer this question as simply as possible.
Ok...
If you are a NEWLY ESTABLISHED business (operating for less than 12 months or just starting up), then in order to meet the training requirement (for the 457 Sponsorship Stage), you are required to demonstrate that your business will make a genuine commitment to training. This is usually evidenced with an Auditable Training Plan. You can obtain these from training organizations or education institutions that offer training (such as TAFE's for example). Alternatively you could create one yourself.
Now...
If you are an established business (operating for 12 months or more), then you are required to demonstrate that you have an established training record. You are required to show that you have training expenditure in the last financial year, or within the current financial year.
For ESTABLISHED businesses, there are two ways to show that you have sufficient training expenditure that will satisfy the 457 Sponsorship Stage requirements.
You have to either show:
Option 1) That you are spending at least 1% equivalent of your total gross payroll (total wages to both internal staff and external contractors, if you have any) towards training Australian (citizens or permanent residents) staff within your business;
OR
Option 2) That you have paid (as a donation expenditure) at least 2% equivalent of your total gross payroll towards an industry training fund, in the same industry as your business to train future Australians. This option is especially suitable for businesses that do not have any Australian staff within the business.
So there you have it. That is the "training requirement" explained in layman's terms.
If you need help determining if you meet the training requirement, or need help with meeting it, and finding suitable industry training funds or training options, please email us at solutions@visaone.com.au or call us on 1300 619 977.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: How soon can I apply for PR (permanent residency) after the grant of my 457 visa?
This is one of the top questions that me and my team get asked after helping people acquire a 457 (employer sponsored working visa).
Most people actually think that you "must" wait for 2 years on a 457 working with the same employer before you can apply for your PR. But this is actually not true.
A 457 visa allows you to work in Australia with your sponsoring employer. If you have worked for your sponsoring employer for 2 years, you can apply for Permanent Residency via the subclasses 186 or 187 with the same employer sponsor, with some concessions in the requirements for the 186 or 187 (via the Temporary Transitional stream). This includes not having to do a Skills Assessment (therefore not needing to have formal qualifications) and only providing IELTS scores of 5's (minimum).
So what if you have been working for your sponsoring employer for less than 2 years? Or in some cases, not worked at all? Well, you can still apply for Permanent Residency depending on your situation.
If you are applying for the Subclass 186, you can apply for Permanent Residency straight away (through the Direct Entry stream) if you have a positive Skills Assessment, IELTS scores of 6's (minimum) and 3 years of post-qualification employment experience (after your qualification; in the same occupation as your qualification).
If you are applying for the Subclass 187, you can apply for Permanent Residency straight away (also through the Direct Entry stream) if you have IELTS scores of 6's (minimum) and the relevant qualification that is relevant to your occupation. There are some occupations in this subclass that do require a Skills Assessment, but the majority do not.
So the lesson here is do not believe rumours.
Always get professional advice because every person's situation is unique.
So if you have a sponsoring employer, and you want to know all your options, and want to plan a pathway to Permanent Residency, call us on 1300 619 977 or email us at solutions@visaone.com.au to get the right advice.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: Am I eligible to migrate to Australia? Can I get Australian Permanent Residency?
This is a fully loaded question that I can spend a few days explaining. So let me break it down into 3 simple areas of "eligibility".
There are 3 main areas that I will talk about, that is:
Let's start with Skilled Migration. This migration pathway is if you want to apply for Australian Permanent Residency independently, based on your qualifications and work experience in a specific occupation. That means without the support of an employer or sponsoring relative. That is not to say that you cannot be sponsored by an employer or relative, as there are avenues within Skilled Migration that allow for this. However, to keep things simple it is primarily for skilled people who want to live and work in Australian permanently. This includes skills that are considered professional (university qualified) and trade related (TAFE / college / technically qualified).
To be eligible for Skilled Migration, the Australian government has put into a place a points-based eligibility system, where if you have sufficient points (that correspond to your age, English skills, qualifications and work experience, etc) then you are eligible apply for Australian Permanent Residency. The main subclasses (types) of visas under the Skilled Migration umbrella are 189, 190, 489, and 485.
Now, Employer Sponsored Migration is kind of self-explanatory. This migration pathway is if you have a job offer from an Australian employer that is willing to sponsor you to live and work in Australia. Obviously, in order to be eligible for a visa, you must posses the relevant qualifications and some work experience in order to apply. If you are in this situation, you are off to a great start.
The other obvious things to note is that the Australian employer must also meet certain criteria in order to sponsor you. This includes being a genuine business with a genuine need in a vacant role, advertising the position to the Australian labour market, offering a market rate salary and other requirements set out by the Migration Act and Regulations. The subclasses (types) of these visas are the 186, 187, and 457 (which has a route to Permanent Residency after two years of work).
Lastly, Family Sponsored Migration is the other main pathway to gain Australian Permanent Residency. This pathway is for relatives of Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents. This includes partners (spouses and fiancés), children, parents, and other last remaining or orphaned relatives. There are a plethora of subclasses within the Family Sponsored Migration program, too many to list without me looking like I'm writing a mathematical equation to the big bang theory.
So there you have it folks. Australian Permanent Residency broken down into 3 main categories.
For more categories, or more information about the above migration pathways, just email us at solutions@visaone.com.au and we will get back to you.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: How much do Australian visas cost?
There was a time in my early adult years where I viewesd everything as a cost. This was probably born out of the conditioned mindset I had developed in University where I learned the gift of "thrift" and pinching every penny to save up for a big night out of drinking, dancing, and testing the limits of brain cell degradation with my collegiate social circles.
Since then, I have had to unlearn the choke hold of incessant-thriftiness in order to make progress in life, because I quickly learned that in order to make progress, one must invest.
Just like any worthy endeavor, there is always an investment of a person's behalf. Whether it is time, physical energy, mental effort or monetary resources, there is always a give and take when it comes to investing.
Take for example, going to the gym. You have to conjure the mental effort to get ready, muster the physical energy to actually have a good work out, and also commit to investing in a gym membership. Why did I use the word "invest"? Because "investing" pre-supposes that you will get a return on what you have paid for with your time, effort and money.
Now obviously if you don't actually go to the gym, or you aren't working out properly, then your return will be little to none. That's why some people go the extra mile and also invest in a Personal Trainer to show them what to do, how to do it to yield positive results, and to hold them accountable (which is a joint responsibility when you also hire an outstanding trainer).
So now let's answer your question in two parts. First would be the cost/investment, then the benefit, which is return on investment (ROI).
How much do Australian visas cost?
For temporary visas like tourist visas, student visas and non-work related business visas, the government fees range between $135 - $550 depending on what kind of visa you are applying for and if you have dependents (e.g. partner and children) the fees can double of triple depending on how big your family is.
For permanent visas, such as skilled visas, employer sponsored visas (including 457 visas that can route to Permanent Residency), and family sponsored visas, the government fees range between $1060 - $6865. Additional fees also apply for dependents (eg. partner and children) so be prepared for a significant investment if you have a decent sized family.
For all of the above visas, there are other costs too. This is your time, your mental & physical effort to comprehend the requirements and prepare an application that you intend on submitting to the Australian Government's Department of Immigration to assess and decide on your application on whether to approve or refuse it.
Professional services are an additional cost, although it is more of a direct investment because there is an immediate benefit you will reap from engaging a migration agent, just like you would with a personal trainer in a gym, to short cut all the guess work and uncertainty. Migration agent fees range between $1000 - $5000 depending on what kind of service you need (full, partial or information only), what type of visa you are applying for, and also how complex your situation is.
Investing in your future - ROI
In my opinion any resources that you contribute towards a better future, is an investment. This is because you can benefit from what you are investing in. For Australia, the fact of the matter is, living and working in Australia is highly sought after by many prospective migrants and workers.
The main reasons why Australia is such as attractive destination to live and work in, is because of it's social and economic stability in comparison to most other countries.
The following are some of the benefits of living and working in Australia:
When you realize the benefits of your investments, it makes more sense to practice investing in all areas of your life. It is more rewarding that saving to spend, because the rewards are lasting.
Put hedonism aside and create a better future for yourself.
Contact us on solutions@visaone.com.au to take control of your future.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday
Question: Can you match the price of this cheaper migration agent?
More often than not, I get asked this question to which my answer is mostly "No".
I know there are agencies that have a price matching policy for "any" quoted price, but It is most likely that the provider is a self-employed sole proprietor/entrepreneur working from home. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that because that's where I started over 13 years ago.
It is easy for a small business to price match for a number of reasons. For example they may be just starting their career and want to get experience with cases, or they want to generate some cash flow because they are still fairly new, and their overheads are relatively low because of their home based business.
For larger more established firms however, they have developed a team and systems that are designed to replicate successful procedures and cases that were learned over a long period of time. So naturally there is a more designed business structure with costs in place to ensure proper procedural compliance, ongoing training and professional development, and accountability with cross checking systems to ensure best practices and outcomes for clients.
So comparing cheap agents and more experienced agents is like comparing apples and oranges. They are advisors of the same profession, but when it comes to "your" application you have to determine what is important to you and what you are looking for in an agent.
Most clients I have helped over the years value experience over other things because they know that I have helped thousands of people in the past and have learned how to manage and prepare successful applications. I have also had my fair share of challenges, which makes my advice today much more valuable because I also know how to avoid mistakes and eliminate or manage risk for my clients.
So whenever you see a price-matching policy, look more closely. Your case may be handled by someone with less experience or by someone who only has experience with easy cases. Because when you encounter true experts and professionals, it is rare that they price-match because they know that their advice is worth the value of protecting your case with their knowledge, experience and systems within their practice.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday.
Question: I have been working with one employer on a 457 but changed to another employer, can I still get PR? I have now worked for 2 years.
Now, “did you know” that you can switch employers at any time whilst you are on a 457? The answer is “yes, you can” as long as you also abide by the termination clause in your current employment contract and give proper notice to your employer about ceasing employment with them (and vice versa if your employer is letting you go).
The rules are:
Make sure that you seek professional advice if you intend on changing employers so that you can avoid any issues with the Department of Immigration.
If you need professional help with employer sponsorships, nominations, and visa applications, contact us at solutions@visaone.com.au.
On the 14th December 2015, new policies were implemented by Immigration that now discourage self-sponsorship from sole operators and small businesses under the Subclass 457.
To do a self-sponsorship, you have to have substantial start-up capital available and a very strong business plan with viable market penetration.
The requirement to prove that the position, for self-sponsorship, is genuine is now much more difficult to establish. A person must also prove that they do not have a long-term "migration outcome" (for permanent residency) as their main purpose. Moving forward, I believe it is important to show that you have incentives to return overseas, when considering self-sponsorship.
For more information about self-sponsored 457's, email us at solutions@visaone.com.au and one of our consultants will contact you to assess your options.
Question: Can I buy a business and sponsor myself?
It has always been standard practice for business people and migration agents to use the Business Skills Migration category for business owners and investors to migrate to Australia. However there are a lot of business people that do not quite fit the bill (cannot meet the stringent requirements) under the Business Skills regime.
Did you know that there actually exists an alternative route?
It is the subclass 457. The 457 is your normal work visa where an Australian employer can sponsor you to work for them. So is there any difference if you yourself is the actual "owner" of the business? Well, there's no difference.
You can actually sponsor yourself if you are the owner of your own Australian business, and unlike the Business Skills Migration category the 457 regime does not have any financial thresholds to satisfy and the level of financial audit prior to lodgement is not necessary under the 457 program.
Of course, it is still critical that all of the 457 requirements are carefully considered so that the "business" itself can satisfy the legislative requirements to gain a 457 Business Sponsorship approval and a successful Nomination application. Then there is the actual 457 Visa Application also. So you still have to satisfy all 3 stages under the 457 program, but with the right advice and assistance, you can successfully sponsor yourself as a business sponsor.
Now, how does this lead to Permanent Residency?
This leads to Permanent Residency after you have worked on a 457 for 2 years for your own business. The Permanent Residency subclasses that you can apply for after 2 years are either the subclass 186 or the subclass 187. The main benefit of going down this 2 year route is that you only have to maintain the same criteria that you met for the 457 in terms of English and demonstrating your skills (with your qualifications or work experience).
Some business people may also be able to get their Permanent Residency even sooner depending on their level of English skills and if they have more than 3 years of work experience in their occupation.
So there you go. If you are a business person who wishes to migrate to Australia and know more about 457 routes to Permanent Residency, then contact us and we can assess if you and your business (or future business) are eligible.
You can email solutions@visaone.com.au if you need our assistance.
From the desk of Yuri Marshall | Changing Lives Everyday