Australia Announced New International Immigration Partnership

Australia has signed a new partnership agreement with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), it has been announced.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said it will further strengthen Australia’s important relationship with the organisation.

‘We both commit to cooperating strategically on key shared migration priorities, establishing structured dialogue to enhance governance arrangements and to develop and implement programmes that make substantial positive difference to migrants,’ he explained.

Since its founding in 1951, Australia and IOM have shared a close collaborative working relationship. Australia was one of the 16 countries that formed the original membership of IOM, and Australia continues to value the important role this organisation plays,” Mr Dutton said.

IOM has shown commitment to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. This has defined it as the leading organisation for international migration,’ Dutton added.

Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Queensland Police Service have detained more people found illegally working in the construction industry in Brisbane.

Some 13 people from China and four from Malaysia were detained. Seven of the Chinese men were unlawful non-citizens and six were working in breach of their visa conditions. Three Malaysians were unlawful non-citizens and one was working in breach of his visa conditions.

‘Australians can be assured that we committed to being as tough on those who seek to rort our migration programmes as we are on those who arrive illegally by boat. We will devote the same resolve, resources and commitment that is necessary to get the job done,’ Dutton said.

Maximum penalties per illegal worker include infringements from $3,060 for individuals and $15,300 for corporates and up to $51,000 and/or five years imprisonment for individuals and $255,000 for corporates for aggravated criminal offences.

Dutton pointed out that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection works closely with employers who want to do the right things by assisting them to complying with their obligations. Employers can easily check visas and work rights through the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) tool, free of charge on the Department’s website.

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New Australian Visa Program to Lure Wealthy Chinese

country. The visa helps its holder to invest money abroad. A typical applicant is a millionaire and invests around $4.73 million to qualify for Australian residency. The visa also helps to sidestep restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on converting the currency and sending it to foreign shores.

The visa has literally opened a money train into Australia. According to Baker & McKenzie LLP, a law firm, investments through this channel could be in the tune of $9.45 billion per year. Approximately $1,000 individuals have sent in their applications. Many more applications are to be expected after a similar program was canceled by Canada in February. The sheer numbers have compelled the Australian government to hasten the review process and quicken the proposals. Many banks and hedge funds are actively competing to capture this kind of money.

According to Bill Fuggle, partner, Baker & McKenzie, based in Sydney, these investors are not the run-of-the-mill private equity kind of investors. He says that fund managers are required to visit China and then convince a prospective client of investing in Australia not simply for a visa, but also for a better lifestyle and also with the aim of preserving wealth.

These Significant Investor Visas, issued by Australia, are available with a minimum investment of $500,000 and a need for job creation. The visas are created to attract foreign capital and permit permanent residency in Australia.

According to the website hosted by the Department of Immigration, immigrants must put A$5 million into certain funds or government bonds which invest in agribusiness, infrastructure and real estate assets. The applicant at first must complete a residency of a minimum of 40 days every year over a period of four years before the permanent residency is granted.

The first visa under this program, named the 188 visa, after the number eight being considered auspicious among Chinese, was given to a Chinese toy manufacturer in 2013. The Australian Government has now made clear its intentions of “rebooting” the concerned visa regime making it easier to implement it.

The visa approval process has been made quicker after the new Liberal National coalition took over Australian administration reins in 2013. About 282 applicants were awarded the visas in the September 2013 to June 2014 period, in contrast to the four granted during the program's initial seven months.

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Thousands of jobs at risk after Senate disallows visa changes for foreign offshore rig workers

The Federal Government says foreigners working on offshore oil and gas projects are being forced to stop work after the Senate killed off a new visa regime.

Last night Labor, the Greens and the Palmer United Party teamed up in the Senate to stop foreign workers being employed on maritime crew visas.

Assistant Minister for Immigration Michaelia Cash says the foreign workers will now have to down tools, and that could have flow-on effects for other workers.

"Labor senators knowingly placed thousands of Australian jobs at risk," she said.

Labor and the Greens had the support of Democratic Labour Party senator John Madigan, Australian Motoring Enthusiast senator Ricky Muir and the three Palmer United Party senators - including Jacqui Lambie, who said the regulation applied to workers on ships that were permanently in Australian waters, adding they should have their full conditions protected.

"The rates of pay of these seafarers are so low that it will be impossible for vessel operators to ignore the option of employing overseas workers within Australia's exclusive economic zone," she said.

Paddy Crumlin from the Maritime Union of Australia said the maritime crew visa was a loophole being used to exploit workers.

"It was here to bring in Filipino, Indonesian seafarers, not on Australian wages and conditions," he said.

Senator Cash said she was seeking urgent advice from the Immigration Department.

"We will currently have people who are literally on vessels or potentially on rigs, who had temporary visas up until the disallowance motion went through, who if they now undertake the role that they are being paid to do will be in breach of their temporary work conditions," she said.

"Will the contracts that these companies have be able to be discharged? I don't know." 

Senator Cash dismissed the view that the regulations allowed workers to be paid less than Australian standards as "propaganda" by the Maritime Union, which she called the most militant union in Australia.

Government can issue quick fix, says Bandt

Greens industrial relations spokesman Adam Bandt said Senator Cash could easily ensure that everyone affected could keep working.

"The minister can issue a new regulation that says people who are working in offshore oil and gas can continue to do it if they're from overseas," he said.

"It just means that the basic floor that applies is Australian wages and conditions. You can't undercut that."

Fifield accuses Greens, Labor of delaying carbon tax repeal

The disallowance motion has demonstrated that the Government cannot take anything for granted in the Upper House at the moment.

The Manager of Government Business in the Senate, Mitch Fifield, accused the Greens and Labor of a deliberate go-slow on the carbon tax debate.

He said they spent three-and-a-half hours on one amendment.

"That is not acceptable. It is seeking to delay the inevitable, seeking to defy the will of the Australian people expressed through the ballot box," he said.

"We will use the full avenues available in the Parliament to ensure the carbon tax is repealed."

He said a gag motion could be used to cut off debate.

"There are a range of parliamentary procedures which are available and we will use those to best advantage to make sure the carbon tax is repealed," he said.

Senator Fifield hinted he could have the support of crossbenchers for a gag motion.

"Parliamentarians have had their say over 50 hours of debate with the three presentations of the repeal package to the Senate ... and the interesting thing is that actually everyone knows what their position is," he said.

"It's time to vote. It's time to repeal the tax."

Senator Fifield also reiterated the Government's determination to have a vote on the mining tax repeal bill.

"If the Senate needs to continue for an additional day to make sure that we vote on the repeal of the mining tax then that's what will happen," he said. 

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New Technology Helping to Fight Immigration and Visa Fraud in Australia

The lengths visa and citizenship fraud criminals will go to and how new technology is combating immigration crime has been revealed by Australian officials.

The National Investigations Section of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection has highlighted some recent cases in its annual report. These include a couple from Queensland alleged to be involved in arranging 500 false marriages for migration purposes. They also owned nine properties and had $2.1 million in assets.

Also, multiple search warrants were issued on a West Australian business alleged to be falsifying employment records for skilled migration and providing unregistered migration assistance to applicants for permanent skilled migration.

An individual who used up to three false identities to circumvent visa requirements and lawful migration rules was taken to court and subsequently left the Australia voluntarily.

A spokesman said that these positive results have been achieved through the continued development and refinement of information technology, corporate governance, policy structures and strategic partnerships with key agencies.

Modern technology is also playing a role in combating visa and immigration fraud. Investigators use a range of new and innovative tools and capabilities to analyse risk and identify mitigation strategies. A key tool is the application of enhanced analytic in a range of areas, including fraud control, risk management and integrity scans.

Risk models are being used to help determine the nature and degree of risk associated with visa applications. Complex statistical models are used to process large amounts of data in real time to identify higher than acceptable levels of risk.

A Border Risk Identification System (BRIS) scans information collected through the department’s advance passenger processing system. All inbound travelers are screened, and travelers representing potential risk are more closely examined.

Additionally, there is a networks analytic system that can identify hidden connections between people, organisations and addresses. Using analytic and business intelligence processes allows the department to forecast more accurately future trends in traveler arrivals to Australia and generate alerts when unusual patterns are detected.

Biometrics also play an important role. The department has been collecting biometrics since 2006. These now include facial images and fingerprints from those in immigration detention, applicants for citizenship, those who apply onshore for a Protection visa, offshore applicants and more recently, a pilot project that verifies the identity of arriving passengers.

The collection of data is now global in scale. For example, fingerprint matching against international data has proven to be extremely valuable and has revealed information that supports a client’s claims as well as important information that was not disclosed to the department by a client.

For example, a visitor visa application was refused after the applicant’s fingerprints matched against those of a known child sex offender from the United Kingdom who left the country prior to sentencing.

An Onshore Protection visa applicant’s fingerprint match revealed that the subject was wanted for credit card and identity fraud in the United States.

Biometric matches also resulted in an offshore visitor visa application being refused after the applicant’s fingerprints matched against an Interpol alert showing the client was wanted for importing large quantities of cocaine into Austria.

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Wealthy Investors Lured with New Visas

Business-savvy migrants with at least $5 million to invest in Australia can apply for new investor visas from November. The investment visas were announced in May and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen released what the conditions were on Wednesday. People can submit expressions of interest through SkillSelect from November 24.

"The $5 million minimum is considered to be sufficient for a meaningful investment contribution, justifying eligibility for visa concessions such as not having to meet the points test, no upper age limit and access to reduced residence requirements," Mr Bowen said in a statement. They will have to invest in state and territory government bonds, Australian Security Investment Commission-regulated managed funds that invest in Australian assets, or in unlisted private Australian companies.

"Where visa holders choose to invest directly into Australian companies, these companies will need to meet certain qualifying business standards," he said. Visa holders will be able to extend initial four year visas by additional two year periods. They will be able to satisfy the residence requirement of 160 days in Australia at any time throughout their four year visa.

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Things You Need to Know About Australian Immigration

Many Filipinos travel around the world, that’s why many Filipinos need to be updated on different Immigration tips. I have shared before UK Immigration tips, US Immigration tips and even Canada Immigration tips. Now I will share to you my beloved readers all about Australia immigration tips.

We all know that Australia is "as good as it gets" - and also notes that getting through the immigration system is "difficult but not impossible". Australian people are famous for their friendly and easygoing outlook on life. But anyone planning to come to Australia should understand that the Australian government is serious about "protecting the security of our borders and the integrity of our immigration system".

• Australia has a Universal Visa system. All non-citizens (unless you are a New Zealander) must have a visa to enter Australia. All non-citizens in Australia must hold a valid visa or be liable to detention and removal as 'unlawful non-citizens'.
• Australia's target migration intake is set yearly with a balance of different areas: skills, family, refugee/humanitarian. Of these areas, there is a strong policy emphasis on reducing family intake and boosting skills and business skills intakes.
• Not everyone is eligible for an Australia visa. Visa matters are subject to the Migration Act and Regulations. The rules change frequently according to legislative amendments and Federal and High Court precedents.
• Each visa subclass has its own conditions and criteria. If you apply in the wrong class, or you do not satisfy the decision-maker that you meet the conditions and criteria for the class you apply in, your application will be rejected without refund of the application fee.
• Discrimination against race or religion or gender is illegal in Australia, including the Australian Immigration system. There is legal discrimination by the Immigration system on the basis of factors like age, medical factors, character and criminal grounds, an applicant's previous visa history, the overstay risk statistics of different countries, and so on. 'Cap and queue' setting is also a feature of some types of visa, delaying processing of those visas when the annual quota is filled.
• Visa applications are decided strictly on the merits of the applicant vis-à-vis the relevant class and subclass. Bribery and corrupt practices are alien to Australian official culture.
• Where a visa application is rejected and there is an Australian sponsoring interest, an appeal is available to an independent Review Tribunal in Australia. The application for review is separate from the visa application itself, with an application deadline and a separate fee, refundable if the appeal wins. Many Immigration Department decisions taken to the Review Tribunals are overturned. These cases can be considered the Immigration Department's mistakes in interpreting and applying migration law.
• Appeals are also possible to the Federal and High Courts. These too are separate applications, which will usually require legal representation.
• The 'migration industry' is rife with unscrupulous operators. Outside of Australia, there is no restriction on who may give Australian migration advice and charge you for it. In Australia, however, there are severe penalties including jail and heavy fines for those who offer migration advice without being registered with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA)
• Migration Agents are bound by a professional Code of Conduct and subject to disciplinary sanctions if they breach it. To be registered, Migration Agents must demonstrate a sound knowledge of migration law and practice, and they must continually update their knowledge.
• A good adviser can help your chances by selecting the best visa avenue for your case, properly preparing the visa application with all necessary evidence, and effectively representing the case during processing.
• Registered Migration Agents are not Immigration officials. A Registered Migration Agent cannot 'guarantee' that you will get the visa.
• For this reason, generally speaking, any migration assistance contract containing a financial 'guarantee' should be regarded with suspicion. In some markets, clients expect and demand a 'no visa, no fee' or 'money-back guarantee' offer, incorrectly believing that this is a promise that the visa may be procured. In these markets, lawyers specialise in tricky, elaborate, and confusing contracts, to deceive the client into thinking the money will be refunded after a rejection.
• As in everything else, in professional migration advice you get what you pay for. For best value, consult and get proper advice first, before deciding whether to make a visa application and what visa to apply for. The wise will expect to pay for that advice: the money you spend could save you a fortune in wasted time, plans, hopes, trouble, and costs.

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