The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has begun to clarify the changes to permanent employer-sponsored skilled visa programmes that were announced on the 18th of April 2017.Significantly, the DIBP has announced transitional or ‘grandfathering’ arrangements to permit individuals who held, or had applied for, a subclass 457 visa on the 18th of April to access certain existing provisions under the Temporary Residence Transition stream.

Data matching and sponsor sanctions

From the 31st of December 2017, the DIBP will commence the collection of Tax File Numbers for permanent employer-sponsored skilled visa holders, and data will be matched with records held by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to ensure that visa holders are not paid less than their nominated salary.Breaches of sponsorship obligations can result in sponsor sanctions. The DIBP has powers to impose a range of penalties depending on the severity of the breach and or number of breaches.

Changes to permanent employer-sponsored skilled visa programmes

The following changes to the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) will apply from the 1st of March 2018:

• Occupation Lists, only jobs on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) will be available on the Direct Entry stream for both ENS and RSMS, with some additional occupations available through the RSMS to support regional employers

• Residence Requirement, the eligibility period to transition from temporary to permanent residence (TRT) will be extended from the current two years to three years (unless the individual is eligible under transitional or ‘grandfathering’ arrangements – see below)

• Age, applicants must be aged under 45 years, rather than the current 50 years, at the time of application, unless transitional arrangements apply

• Training Requirement, employers nominating a worker for an ENS or RSMS visa will be required to pay a contribution to the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF), which replaces the current training obligation requirements. The contribution will be payable in full at the time the worker is nominated, and is set at AUD 3000 for small businesses (those with annual turnover of less than AUD 10 million) and AUD 5000 for other businesses

• Work Experience, at least three years of work experience relevant to the particular occupation will be required

• Minimum market salary rate, employers must pay the Australian market salary rate and meet the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (et at AUD 53,900 as at 12 April 2016)

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Related immigration news:

• Australian citizenship application processing recommences
• Next round of immigration changes to take place in Australia
• Envoy Global: Business immigration compliance under the microscope

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How to access the Temporary Residence Transition stream

People who held, or had applied for, a subclass 457 visa on 18th of April will be able to access certain existing provisions under the Temporary Residence Transition stream:

• Occupation requirements remain the same (i.e. there are no restrictions as long as the nominee continues to work in the same position for the same employer as approved for their subclass 457 visa)
• The age requirement will remain at less than 50 years of age. The work experience requirement and the requirement to have worked at least two out of the three years prior to nomination on a subclass 457, will remain at two years

Immigration advice for employers

• Employers are advised to work with an immigration specialist to prepare for these changes and to avoid non-compliance.

This immigration update was produced by Peregrine Immigration Management, the global immigration services company and prepared by using information provided by Newland Chase.For related news and features, visit our Immigration section. Look out for the launch of 2018's Relocate Awards, entries open in January. Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online Directory  

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