Latest Australia and Migration News

Over the past years, immigration rules and regulations have changed drastically, making it challenging nowadays for people to migrate to Australia from Singapore or elsewhere. While this is the case, NTRUST, being the most established Australia migration agency in Singapore, remains to be committed to advocating all application.

With a few of the immigration policies being contested in Australian Politics for the past months, such as the plan of migration intake reduction for the next fiscal year , or encouraging migrants to settle in regional areas, there are still several options or pathways available if you are really keen on the process of moving across to Australia.

With the aim to provide new avenue for parents and grandparents to reunite with their families who migrated to Australia from Singapore or anywhere else, the Federal Government has announced its launching of the new temporary sponsored visa for parents in 2019.

According to Immigration Minister David Coleman, this movement will deliver great social benefits to the Australian community.

Year after year, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) received hundreds and thousands of visa application – work, family, student and permanent residency visa. With the goal to streamline and invite really eligible applicants, DHA revises immigration programme including increased in passmarks, updating eligibility requirements – making migration to Australia from Singapore or anywhere else tougher than before. 

With the immigration regulations getting tougher and visa refusal rate increasing each year, migrating to Australia from Singapore or elsewhere will never be as easy as it is five to eight years ago.

In an interview with Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Minister Peter Dutton, he said that the government is now having a war on fraudulent claims. For the past ten years, the previous financial year (2017-18) is Australia’s lowest migration rate. This is due to border’s integrity restoration, following the goal to only bring in the best migrants possible into the nation.

With the start of the 2018-19 fiscal year, the passmark is increased from 60 to 65 points for those who want to migrate to Australia from Singapore or from whicver part of the world under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) programme.

Effective 1st July 2018, applicants for General Skilled Migration (Subclasses 189,190 and 489) are required to have a minimum score of 65 points to be in the pool of applications and receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

The 2018-19 fiscal year has yet to begin, but certainly, a number of changes on the Australia Visa Application process will be implemented.

Sure, Australia has been continuously welcoming hundreds and thousands of immigrants from all over the world. However, with the objective to protect Australian citizens’ employment opportunities, revisions with the Immigration programme including cuts and additions with the occupational ceilings, modification of eligibility requirements, and periodic reviews of the regulations are being set by the government. With that being said, migrating to Australia is getting tougher each year for many interested applicants.

Am I claiming enough points? Have I claimed the right points for each component? What other extra points should I claim for my Australia Permanent Resident application? A few of the questions most Do-It-Yourself applicants ask. Some may even assume that the higher points they claim, the higher their chance of getting an approval. Most of the time, people are claiming points that they are not eligible for, which results in a refusal.

With hundreds and thousands of applications submitted every year, the competition is getting tougher; each and every one wants to stand out from the rest of the applicants, claiming unnecessary or ineligible points. While you can be prioritized over applications with lower scores, be reminded of obtaining enough verifiable supporting documents to prove the points you are claiming.

Here are some of the common mistakes people commit when claiming points:

1. English Language Proficiency

People tend to mistakenly use the overall score when claiming points for the English Language. All four components in IELTS: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking – must be taken into consideration when claiming English Language Proficient. For example, if you scored 6 in Listening and Writing, and 7 in Reading and 7 in Speaking, then you can only claim Competent Level of English (10 points) instead of Proficient English (10 points).

2. Points for Employment

Many are confused when claiming employment points. Definitely, you will need to determine whether your occupation is in the Skilled Occupation List (SOL). Once determined and did not find exact occupation, know if your occupation is closely related, being in the same unit group. Number or work experience must be claimed with verifiable supporting documents. Lastly, you can only claim points for employment after you were deemed suitable qualified, usually after completing your degree or diploma.

3. Points for Qualification

Many are not aware that Universities, regardless of which part of the world you are, are assessed on three sections. For example, a top-notch university in Singapore is in Section 1 of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), while small institutions are in Section 2 of the AQF where you Bachelor’s Degree will only be deemed equivalent to Australian Diploma or depending on per country requirement. Basically, you need to understand the AQF to know if you are claiming the right points for your qualification.

These are only a few of the common mistakes most of us commit when claiming points for Australia PR Application. With NTRUST, we will guide you accordingly all throughout your application, from the moment you seek professional advice from us until we receive the result of your visa application. Book an appointment by calling +65 6299 0245.  

Australia, for the past years, has been considered a nation of immigrants. With great lifestyle and career advancements available, the country has benefited as much from the number of migrants who have contributed in the economic prosperity.

Truth be told, Australia immigration process will never be as easy as it was five to eight years ago. In fact, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has introduced several changes to Australian visas on the first quarter of the year. These changes may impact a wide range of applicants opting for work, partner or even the permanent resident visas. Some major changes announced in March relate to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) programme, where some occupations have been removed from the list. Also, a new list called Regional Occupation List (ROL) has been introduced, which is relevant for the subclass 489 visa applications.

Timing is Everything

After the major changes with the immigration rules and regulations, migrating to Australia from Singapore or from anywhere else is by no means guaranteed. And when we say timing, we are not to convince you that Australia immigration is the best thing for you. Thus, we will only assess your eligibility based on your present circumstances and against the immigration rules and regulations. As what we always tell to our clients, you must seize the opportunity when it is still available. You’ll never know, or we will never know until when you will be eligible. At the end of the day, every decision is from the immigration authorities.

What We Do?

As the most established Registered Australia Migration Agent, NTRUST is regulated to just be upfront in all the professional advice we provide. During your consultation appointment, you will know whether you will be eligible or not. You’ll be provided application options on how you can get your Australian visa. The immigration process is tedious; one mistake and all your effort will go to waste. We are devoted to represent and advocate your application to the best that we can. Be mindful of companies who are unlawful pretending to have migration agents. Always check the Migration Agent Registration Authority (MARA) website to ensure you are only dealing with registered authorities.

We do all types of Australian Visa Application. Call us at +65 6299 0245 to book a professional appointment.

Honestly speaking, and in the basis that NTRUST has been in the industry for 15 years now, the best time to apply for an Australia Permanent Residency (PR) visa was way back years ago, when the regulations and policies are not as tough as they are today.

Migrating to Australia is quite tedious. Before jumping into the process, you need to thoroughly research about your eligibility criteria. When you start reading online, information for different types of visa to apply for can get very overwhelming. We always reiterate to our clients that no application is similar to another, thus, doing your application based on your friends or relatives’ submission is not recommended. The timeline, including the procedure and documents needed, vary on a case-by-case basis. Make sure that when doing research, all of these are covered not to miss any important detail that can harm your submission.