Posts with tag: Australia
What's in a Name
What's in a name?
Growing up I always thought of my surname as a bit of a curse and often wondered whether I came from a long line of Lipschitz' ( or should it be Lipshi?) or whether some customs official with a nasty sense of humour changed my grandfathers surname from Jones to Lipschitz.
Highly unlikely since my paternal grandparents hailed from Lithuania and prior to that, possibly Germany. Perhaps then my grandfather had the Lithuanian equivalent name to Jones prior to the whimsical humour of a customs official.
I have spent my life spelling my surname to people and to compound matters my first name, Myer, isn’t that common either. If people do know it they know it as a girls name and I often have correspondence addressed to me as Ms.
So I do have some baggage with my name. I'm not going to tell you my middle name because you might think my parents were having an acid trip (it was the 60's) when I was born.
Just in case you think I'm getting too comfortable on this metaphorical couch let me reassure you there is a point.
The point is that on a recent 24 hour stopover in Switzerland I was amazed how easily everyone understood and pronounced my surname. There were none of those awkward pauses when I have to finish the pronunciation of the name by adding " schitz" after they get as far as Lip.
From the receptionist at the hotel to the check in clerk at the airport prior to my departure everyone was Herr Lipschitzing me in Zurich. Even the counter staff at Starbucks got my first name correct when they named my cup. Yes I know ordering Starbucks in Switzerland looks bad but that's another story for another couch.
At the departure lounge I even heard that another Lipschitz was late for his flight to London over the intercom. I had to refrain from shouting "run Lipschitz you tardy bastard, you are letting the team down". I was starting to think that there are so many of us we are taking over the world. Today Zurich airport tomorrow...
The only other time I felt like this was when I emigrated from New Zealand to Melbourne 5 years ago. Like most migrants desperate for a sign that they are doing the right thing (particularly those of us dumb enough to do it at the height of the GFC) I noticed, on my first day in Melbourne, my first name Myer emblazoned in font 100,000,000 on the side of a large building. It's a sign, it’s a sign I thought to myself. God is showing me in a not too subtle way that the move to Melbourne was a good one. It was about as subtle as a burning bush in Collins Street but good on you Big Guy I thought to myself.
I subsequently found out it wasn't through divine hand that my name ended up on the side of a building but rather it was the MYER department store. Apparently this other Myer was also a migrant but changed his name to Myer which leads me to believe that he must have had a really, really bad first name. Sadly - no relation.
So why am I ranting (as my wife unkindly says). Although this might come across as some self indulgent piece of prose better delivered to a psychologist than an audience of would be migrants it does have relevance to you so please don't rush me. Man this couch is comfortable, pass me another cushion Doc.
So when I consulted with a very nice young Israeli on my recent trip and he tells me that he is thinking of changing his surname from Arabic to English ( he is Jewish) and do I think it's a good idea a wave of baggage descends faster than on a conveyor belt at Oliver Tambo International Airport (OK , much faster).
His name did not contain any of the names Osama, Bin or Laden but it was unmistakably Arabic. Would this impact on his chances of getting employment in Australia he wanted to know.
I thought back to another Israeli client of mine who immigrated to NZ with my help many years ago. He was born in India and had the type of unpronounceable surname with so many guttural consonants that are so foreign to the NZ tongue. He told me that after a month in NZ and hardly any interviews he decided to change his name to something more English. Short of inspiration he looked to the bottle and found both inspiration as well as his new name - Johnny Walker! As Mr Walker the interviews started rolling in with a job offer soon thereafter.
I relayed the story to my young Israeli and after much laughter he confessed his love for whiskey as well. I bade the soon to be known Mr Daniels goodbye.
Was I facilitating a betrayal of his culture and heritage or making a difficult process easier. I prefer to think the latter.
It's not racist for employers to want to employ people that they feel will fit into the work culture, relate better to their colleagues and customers and so people with more English sounding names do have an advantage. But that's not to say that people with more foreign sounding names can't overcome these initial obstacles, they can as soon as employers discover the person behind the strange name.
After all, what’s in a name?
Forthcoming free seminars :
South Africa:
Johannesburg: Seminar to be held on Thursday 13 June at the Michelangelo Hotel at 7pm
Consultations will be held on 14, 15, 16, 24, 25 and 26 June in Auckland Park.
Durban: Seminar to be held on Monday 17 June at the Riverside Hotel at 7pm
Consultations will be held on 18 and 19 June at the Endless Horizons
Cape Town: Seminar to be held on Thursday 20 June at the Commodore Hotel at 7pm
Consultations will be held on 21 and 22 June at the Commodore Hotel
Singapore:
Seminar to be held on Saturday 22 June at 11am at the Holiday Inn, 11 Cavenagh Rd
Consultations will be held on 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 June.
To book please go to our website – www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars
'I have 150 points, where do I start?'
Occasionally we hear from a potential client stating that they have scored 150 points on the skilled migration test, giving them sufficient amount of points to qualify and wish to start the process for migrating without the need for a consultation. Please forgive my scepticism when someone tells me that they have scored 150 points and meet the criteria when the highest score possible is 125 points. The vast majority of our clients struggle to reach 70 points.
At IMMagine we have a policy that we do not accept a client without first conducting an eligibility assessment so we can be sure that they do in fact meet the requirements (our visa success rate is better than 99%). So when you tell us that you don’t need an assessment, we would be foolish and unprofessional not to insist that we do our own check.
If you ever doubt the importance of an initial consultation prior to starting the migration process, you should think about the costs involved in migrating to Australia, and how difficult it actually is to qualify and be certain you meet the specific requirements.
You will note on our website that we do not have a self eligibility assessment available to our clients, unlike a number of other immigration agency firms. We find that these do not help anyone accurately assess the eligibility for migration to Australia as the assessment needs to be more in depth than just a self-assessment points test and a few questions. We find that the self-assessment tests do more harm than good.
When going through the process of migrating one does not just deal with the department of immigration. There are several other decision making bodies concerned namely:
- Skills Assessing authorities, with different requirements for each occupation
- State Governments – In Australia, we have three levels of government and in many cases, you will need to deal with two of them.
- English Language testing
Whilst the self-assessment test gives an overview for the criteria under which points can be allocated , more often than not, those who are not familiar with the legislation upon which the points test is based, will inevitably calculate the points incorrectly, usually overstating what can be claimed. Over claiming points in an expression of interest leads to an automatic decline of the residence visa application.
Self-assessment tests do not cover the requirements of the other important decision-making bodies listed above. You will also not understand the pitfalls and obstacles that can and will occur during the process, nor will you get a holistic assessment of your eligibility to qualify for a variety of visas to Australia.
There are several reasons for inaccurate self assessments including:
- Nominating the incorrect occupation
- Overstating English language ability
- Overstating work experience points, particularly where experience is not in the nominated occupation
- Not understanding the differences between the two occupation lists, namely SOL and CSOL particularly in the context of state sponsorship/family sponsorship
- Not understanding skills assessment and state sponsorship criteria
I can assure you that I have met many candidates who are working in an occupation on the skills list but would have absolutely no chance of meeting the skills assessment requirements. Unqualified Accountants is one that springs to mind. Unfortunately the skills assessment is a compulsory application in the migration process under points tested visas.
The migration process is so confusing with the Australian Migration Legislation being the second most difficult law in Australia behind the Tax Laws. We have met a number of people who have attempted the process themselves, spent money on filing fees, only to have had an application refused because they either didn’t meet requirements or miscalculated their eligibility assessment.
Declined applications can have serious consequences and can lead to applicants being prevented from filing further applications or character issues.
We have helped some of these applicants who filed their own application, only to have it declined, obtain positive results however it makes life a lot more stressful (and expensive) if the job isn’t done correct the first time round.
I always say that the best money you can spend in the migration process is the initial consultation simply because you know from the start if you can actually meet the criteria or not. If you don’t then you’ll save yourself a lot of money in immigration costs.
If you do meet the criteria, then the investment in the process is well worthwhile as Australia is one of the best countries in the world to live.
Forthcoming seminars :
South Africa – April 2013
Johannesburg: Thursday 18 April at the Michelangelo Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 19, 20, 21, 28, 29 and 30 April.
Durban: Monday 22 April at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 23 and 24 April
Cape Town: Thursday 25 April at the Commodore Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 26 and 27 April
Singapore – April 2013
Singapore:
Saturday 27 April at the Holiday Inn – 11am to 12.30pm
Consultations: afternoon of 27 April, whole day 28, 29, 30 April, 1, 2 and 3 May.
Israel – May 2013
Tel Aviv
Sunday 5 May at the Park Plaza Orchid Tel Aviv Hotel at 7pm
Consultations: 6, 7 and 8 May.
The seminars are free to attend but there is a charge for consultations. You are not obliged to book a consultation.
To book for the free seminar go to : http://www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars/
To book for a consultation contact Ruth on ruth@immagine-immigration.com.
Last Chance for Accountants?
Accountants, by all accounts, have had a good run as far as far as Australian immigration policy is concerned but is their Indian summer about to end on 1 July 2013?
There is speculation that the occupation of Accountant will disappear from the Skilled Occupations List (SOL) from 1 July of this year. In this regard we refer you to a newspaper article that appeared in The Australian Newspaper which appears at the end of this blog.
The effect of culling Accountants from the SOL would be that they would be relegated to the Consolidated Skilled Occupations List (CSOL).
The principal difference between the two lists is that if one’s occupation appears on the SOL one can, subject to scoring sufficient points, apply for the skilled independent 189 visa or the family sponsored 489 visa. For those with occupations on the CSOL one needs State Sponsorship.
There are eight States or Territories in Australia that publish lists of occupations they are prepared to sponsor for the forthcoming immigration year which runs from 1 July to 30 June. In order to apply for State sponsorship one needs to sit an IELTS [English language] test and obtain a positive skills assessment for a specific occupation before they could apply for State Sponsorship.
As part of a State Sponsorship application they would need to sign an agreement agreeing to live and work in that particular State for a period of two years.
At this point in time you would be excused for thinking ….. so what, Accountants could still qualify for General Skilled Migration visas even if their occupation is relegated to CSOL and you’d be right in that Accountants will, subject to obtaining State Sponsorship, qualify for general skilled migration visas however:
- Family members wouldn’t be able to act as sponsors
- Accountants will not be able to migrate to any part of Australia but will be bound to settle in the State that sponsors them and this may necessitate being removed from family members/friends already located in Australia.
- Eligibility would be subject to a State sponsoring your occupation in addition to meeting the additional criteria for State sponsorship. Most States would want to be satisfied that there are genuine reasons for you choosing that particular State and that you have researched your employment options in that particular State. State sponsorship involves more than obtaining a positive skills assessment for an occupation on a State sponsorship list
- State sponsorship lists change. You never know how many “Accountants” each particular State is going to sponsor.
- It will become critical to choose the correct type of Accountant for the purposes of the skills assessment because State sponsorship lists differentiate different types of Accountants . For example you might find that someone qualifies for a skills assessment for two occupations, namely External Auditor and General Accountant. There is no point in obtaining a positive skills assessment as an External Auditor if the State in which you are prepared to settle does not sponsor this occupation.
- With regard to 4 above, you may find that by the time you obtain your skills assessment the particular State that you had in mind might have closed its doors to the occupation that you have had assessed by the skills assessing authority, necessitating you to find a second State. In this regard it’s going to be more difficult to substantiate that there are genuine reasons for you choosing the second choice State if you have already failed to obtain sponsorship from your initially preferred State.
In short I think Accountants will always qualify for a General Skilled Migration visa but instead of traveling first-class to Australia they will be traveling economy. Accountants, welcome to the rest of us!
(see article below forthcoming seminars)
Forthcoming seminars :
South Africa – April 2013
Johannesburg: Thursday 18 April at the Michelangelo Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 19, 20, 21, 28, 29 and 30 April.
Durban: Monday 22 April at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 23 and 24 April
Cape Town: Thursday 25 April at the Commodore Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 26 and 27 April
Singapore – April 2013
Singapore:
Saturday 27 April at the Holiday Inn – 11am to 12.30pm
Consultations: afternoon of 27 April, whole day 28, 29, 30 April, 1, 2 and 3 May.
Israel – May 2013
We are in the process of booking a seminar in Israel in early May 2013. Please email ruth@immagine-immigration.com if this is of interest to you.
The seminars are free to attend but there is a charge for consultations. You are not obliged to book a consultation.
To book for the free seminar go to : http://www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars/
Below is a story which appeared in “The Australian” on 23 January 2013.
Change in migration list adds up to fear BY: JOHN ROSS From: The Australian January 23, 2013 12:00AM
UNIVERSITIES fear another crash in international enrolments as a debate rages about whether accountants should stay on a key migration priority list. The federal government and the Finance Sector Union say Australia is awash with overseas-born accountants. They say the profession should be removed from the 192-strong Skilled Occupation List, which governs eligibility for independent skilled migration. But accountancy bodies say demand for accountants is outstripping supply, while institutions fear the move could jeopardise up to $2.5 billion in revenue. They fear a re-run of 2009, when skilled migration reforms precipitated a downturn that has stripped $3bn a year from education exports.
Latest figures suggest about 28,000 foreigners study accountancy at degree level, representing 12 per cent of about 230,000 overseas higher education enrolments. But the International Education Association of Australia said far more were at risk. It said accountancy was effectively interchangeable with the broader field of management and commerce, which attracts one in two international higher education students. "Many segue into accounting once they find their feet and work out the finance and tax systems," said IEAA executive director Phil Honeywood. "Accounting is the professional end game of a business degree." With international higher education tuition fees totalling $5bn a year, accountancy alone could be bringing in between $600 million and $2.5bn in fees.
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations said qualified accountants are in surplus and that all three categories - general, management and taxation accountants - should be removed from the Skilled Occupation List. "Employer sponsored migration is more appropriate to meet labour market needs," it said.
Mr Honeywood said the move would create "enormous perception problems. It will indicate that Australia doesn't need any more accountants. "Students who had hoped to get employer sponsorship will no longer see us as a study destination." Monash University demographer Bob Birrell said Australia hosted about 60,000 25 to 34-year-old foreigners with management and commerce degrees. Just 30 per cent worked in management or professional positions, compared to 67 per cent of their domestic equivalents. "We do have a very substantial stock of these people in Australia," he said.
Tomorrow bureaucrats, the FSU, business deans, private colleges, peak industry bodies and representatives of the big four accountancy firms will thrash the issue out at a Canberra focus group convened by the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency. AWPA reviews the Skilled Occupation List annually and proposes changes to the federal government. It has flagged accounting as an occupation being considered for removal. It expects to forward its advice to the Immigration Minister in March or April, with the new list likely to apply from early July. AWPA chief executive Robin Shreeve said people shouldn't jump to conclusions about the new list. "We put a lot of research into this and we do a lot of data mining," he said. Mr Shreeve said tomorrow's meeting demonstrated that AWPA had an open mind and was "exploring every avenue".
Source: The Australian
“ So, what is Adelaide like?”
I get this a lot, prospective migrants inquiring as to a local context for a particular destination in Australia whether it be Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney or Kalgoorlie?
With this question in mind I spent a small portion of my holiday visiting Adelaide. Why Adelaide? My immediate response is “why not?” but this sounds a bit defensive. From an immigration perspective South Australia [of which Adelaide is the capital] is an attractive proposition.
Because the vast majority of our clients will require state sponsorship and South Australia sponsors one of the biggest arrays of occupations of any state it has immediate attraction. In fact, that list of occupations available for sponsorship just got longer. This past week South Australia added 33 occupations to its list of occupations available for sponsorship and the list appears below.
South Australia is also attractive because it includes Adelaide in the definition of “regional” for the purposes of the 489 visa. Therefore, unlike most states in Australia the capital city of South Australia is not excluded for a 489 visa meaning that the applicant can live and work in Adelaide on a 489 visa. This is quite different from a 489 visa sponsored by the states which exclude Perth, Sydney and Melbourne from areas in which applicants can live and work for a period of two years.
I had no preconceptions in mind as to what Adelaide was like and must confess to being very pleasantly surprised by Adelaide. I found the architecture to be a mixture of modern and colonial in a friendly juxtaposition of contrasting styles. I found the city to be neatly organized in a logical grid system, plenty of parks and enough of a commercial hub to feel part of the international community [Adelaide has 1.1 million people] but still not living in a rat race.
I was surprised by Adelaide’s charm.
If pressed to find an equivalent city I have to say Cape Town comes closest. Apart from the obvious comparisons given the viticulture industries in both South Australia and the Cape some of the streets have a similar feel.
The architecture is obviously different, Cape Town having a distinct Cape Dutch feel with an influence of British colonial architecture. Adelaide doesn’t have the Cape Dutch influence but does have the colonial architecture and the city has a similar size and feel.
Don’t make the mistake of going to Adelaide looking for Cape Town. It’s not Cape Town and has a quaint charm all of its own.
If you want to find out more about what South Australia has to offer I suggest you look at the South Australian Government website which gives a very good overview as to the economy, weather, cost of housing etc.
On my trip I managed to meet with a representative of Immigration South Australia [a State Government organization] and was told that one of the selling points of Adelaide is quality of life for families, providing a good work life balance with quality education, affordable housing and internationally recognized qualifications. The vast majority of our clients are looking for this lifestyle and if this appeals to you give some thought to migration to South Australia.
Forthcoming seminars :
South Africa
Johannesburg : Thursday 7 February at the Michelangelo Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20 February
Durban: Monday 11 February at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 12, 13 February
Cape Town: Thursday 14 February at the Commodore Hotel – 7pm to 8.30pm
Consultations: 15 and 16 February
Singapore and Malaysia:
Singapore:
Saturday 23 February at the Holiday Inn – 11am to 12.30pm
Consultations: afternoon of 23 February, whole day 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 February and 1 March
Kuala Lumpur:
Saturday 2 March at the DoubleTree by Hilton, , The Intermark – 11am to 12.30pm
Consultations: afternoon of 2 March, whole day 3, 4, 5 and 6 March
The seminars are free to attend but there is a charge for consultations. You are not obliged to book a consultation.
To book for the free seminar go to : http://www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars/)
The following occupations have been added to the State Nomionation Occupations List
ANZSCO OCCUPATION
133511 Production Manager (Forestry)
134111 Child Care centre manager
135112 ICT Project Manager
135199 ICT Managers, nec
139999 Specialist Managers nec
142114 Hair or Beauty Salon Manager
149411 Fleet Manager
149913 Facilities Manager
224711 Management Consultant
224712 Organisation and Methods Analyst
225212 ICT Business Development Manager
234112 Agricultural scientist
234311 Conservation Officer
234312 Environmental Consultant
234313 Environmental Research Scientist
241111 Early childhood (pre-primary school) teacher
251111 Dietitian
252112 Osteopath
252211 Acupuncturist
252214 Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner
252299 Complementary Health Therapists nec
253314 Medical Oncologist
253315 Endocrinologist
253324 Thoracic medicine specialist
254211 Nurse Educator
254311 Nurse Manager
261212 Web Developer
271111 Barrister
312112 Building Associate
312114 Construction Estimator
312911 Maintenance Planner
342411 Cabler (Data and Telecommunications)
411411 Enrolled Nurse
Skills Select Results so Far, and Buying Your Way Into Australia
Skills Select Statistics
We are now five months into DIAC’s new policy and we have seen some interesting results. As many of you will now be aware, on 1 July this year DIAC introduced Skills Select whereby applicants need to submit an expression of interest and wait for an invitation from DIAC before applying for a visa.
One of the advantages of this new policy is that the pass mark was lowered from 65 to 60, with those who are nominated by a State Government automatically getting an invitation to apply.
I thought now would be a good time to get a snapshot as to the progress and trends of those who are being invited to apply for a visa to Australia under the skills select program.
The first selection round took place in August where 100 applicants were selected. The lowest pass mark was 75 and the highest was 85 points. This confirmed my prediction that 75 points would be an ideal score to get if you are to be selected under the independent or family stream skilled migrant category. My initial feelings were that anyone who had a score of 70 or lower would have a better chance of applying through a state government to guarantee an invitation to apply.
The next two selection rounds on 1 September and 15 September saw those who scored 65 points and above given an invitation to apply. Not everybody who scored 65 points obtained an invitation as DIAC will only select a specific number of people in each round. If two applicants both scoring 65 points submit their expressions of interest the one submitting the expression of interest at an earlier point in time will be selected first.
Already these results have blown my theory out of the water and it appears that 65 points will be a very good score.
Moving on to the October results, namely 1 October and 15 October, we have seen applicants who have scored 60 points being invited to apply. This means that everyone who had 65, 70, 75 and above were given invitations to apply during this month. So my original theory has now been ripped up and thrown in the bin, and a better ability to forecast trends has been added to my Christmas wish list.
Whilst we have not yet had the results from November published, results from our clients have been positive where a number have been selected at 60 points and will continue to do so as the program begins to gather momentum.
In August only 100 applicants were selected however in November 3000 applicants were given an invitation to apply.
There have also been some interesting results through the state sponsorship program. Each state will have their own economic requirements and process applications for state sponsorship nomination through their own processes. State-sponsored applicants only need to score 60 points to get an invitation. Once your are state sponsored, you are given an invitation to apply for a visa, regardless of how many applicants score more than you.
In looking at the results of the States who are sponsoring skilled migrants, in the month of September:
- 503 skilled migrants were sponsored for permanent state sponsorship
- 73 were sponsored for provisional state sponsorship
- Western Australia was the state that sponsored the most with 388 nominations approved
- Victoria was second with 64 nominations approved
- Tasmania and Queensland were the least involved states with only 6 and 8 nominations approved respectively.
- Other states were ACT (46), Northern Territory (13), South Australia (22) and New South Wales (31).
- Victoria was the most active state in issuing business skills nominations with 50 approved, followed by Western Australia who issued 6 nomination approvals.
Does a difference in numbers mean that Western Australia wants more migrants than Tasmania? Or are more people applying to go to Western Australia than any other state?
If only it was so simple. State governments have their own specific requirements simply to ensure that they are attracting the type of skilled worker who will meet the needs of businesses within the state, and they also want to select those who are genuinely interested in remaining in the sponsoring state. Traditionally New South Wales and Victoria have been more popular because the two largest cities in Australia are located within these territories.
DIAC has issued 114,000 places for the skilled migrant programme. These places will include employer nomination, business skills and general skilled migrants. As you can see from the above figures, only 635 invitations were issued by state governments for sponsorship of any of the visas in the skilled category for the month of September. Under independent and family sponsored general skilled migration, 6100 invitations have been issued up to the end of November.
Each state is given a specific amount of nominations each year. This year, 27,000 places are available through state sponsorship. Given the above results, there are still plenty of places that need to be filled. We will expect the quotas to begin to fill up in the coming months. Also with only less than 7000 invitations issued so far for skilled and business migration, it seems that there are plenty and more invitations that are available for skilled migrants.
Given the fact that the number of occupational places available for state sponsored and independent migration is limited, one has to say that for different reasons, it makes more sense to be starting the process sooner rather than later.
I know I have mentioned this before but going on the above figures, there has never been a better time to migrate.
Significant Investor Category
On 24 November 2012, a new visa category has been implemented by DIAC. This is the significant investor category and is part of the business skills pathway for migration to Australia.
Certainly this visa is targeting those who have significant funds and are interested in investing in managed funds and businesses in Australia. For those of you who can spare $5 million, for a period of four years, and are willing to invest in Australia, then this visa is for you.
Like the other business skill categories, you will be given a provisional Visa in the first instance. Once you have proven that you have invested $5 million in complying investments in Australia over a four-year period, you can then apply for the permanent residency visa.
Unlike the investor visa category that requires you to invest large sum in a state treasury bond, you are able to take advantage of other investment opportunities where the return is much higher. There is also no age limit, meaning that you can migrate to Australia even if you are a centurion (100 years old).
There are also no language requirements. So if you are having trouble reading this article, your interpreter will be able to tell you that this is not going to be an issue.
One of the other advantages is that the investor only has to spend 40 days per year in Australia over the provisional four year period in order to meet the residency requirements.
It is fair to say that very few of us would fall into that category, but certainly this is an opportunity for those who have always been interested in moving to Australia but had not met any of the previous requirements such as Language ability, age, business history, etc. to take advantage of becoming a resident.
If your are interested to know more about the new policies and migration trends, please register for one of our free seminars here.
Forthcoming trips to Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa
Singapore
Seminar: Saturday 1 December at 11am at the Concorde Hotel
Consultations: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 December
Kuala Lumpur
Seminar: Saturday 8 December at 11am at the Le Meridian Hotel
Consultations: 9, 10 and 11 December
Johannesburg
Seminar: Thursday 7 February 2013 at 7pm at the Michelangelo Hotel
Consultations: 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20 February
Durban
Seminar: Monday 11 February 2013 at 7pm at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel
Consultations: 12 and 13 February
Cape Town
Seminar: Thursday 14 February 2013 at 7pm at the Commodore Hotel
Consultations: 15 and 16 February
To book please go to www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars/.
The seminars are free to attend however, there is a charge for consultations (if required).
From
The IMMagine Team
www.immagine-immigration.com
Australian Immigration Policy Update
This update covers recent policy changes including;
1. More occupations sponsored for Victoria and New South Wales and
2. Proposed changes to post study work visa arrangements for students and longer-term tourist visas for parents of Australian citizens.
New South Wales State Sponsorship List
More occupations added (total of 122) and some of the requirements for existing occupations have been lowered.
You can view a copy off the full list here
Victorian State Sponsorship List
Occupations added
o Carpenter and Joiner (331211)
o ICT Project Manager (135112)
You can view a complete list of occupations available for sponsorship in Victoria – here
Post study work visas
New post-study work visa arrangements are proposed for introduction in early 2013.
Graduates of an Australian Bachelor degree, Masters by coursework degree, Masters by
research degree or Doctoral degree will have access to the post-study work visa
Applicants do not need to nominate an occupation on the skilled occupations list to be eligible to apply for this visa ( this is a big change from current criteria)
Graduates who have completed a Bachelor degree or Masters by coursework degree in
Australia will be eligible to apply for a two year post-study work visa.
Graduates who have completed a Masters by research degree or a Doctoral degree in Australia will be eligible to apply for a post-study work visa for three or four years respectively.
Students not studying a degree level qualification in Australia will be subject to the status quo, in other words need to nominate an occupation on the skilled occupations list and obtain a positive skills assessment and then apply for the subclass 485 visa is a temporary visa that allows an 18 month stay to work iin Australia.
Longer Tourist visas for parents of Australians
Under current policy parents can visit Australia for only three months at the time. Many elderly parents would therefore have had to visit Australia for a period of three months, exit and then re-enter if they want to spend more time in Australia.
Towards the end of 2012, parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to apply for Tourist visas to visit Australia for longer periods.
The Department will be considering issuing, on a case-by-case basis:
• Tourist visas of up to five years' validity which provide a stay of up to 12 months on each entry to those parents who are outside Australia and are in the Parent (subclass 103) visa queue
• Tourist visas of up to three years' validity with 12 months' stay on each entry will be considered for parents who are outside Australia and are not in the Parent visa queue.
Parents will be expected to hold health insurance to cover any healthcare costs during their stay and will have a visa condition limiting applications for further visas while they are in Australia. They will also be expected to leave Australia for extended periods of time – details as to the amount of time that they would be expected to be out of Australia before reientering haven’t yet been released.
Forthcoming trips to Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa
Singapore
Seminar: Saturday 1 December at 11am at the Concorde Hotel
Consultations: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 December
Kuala Lumpur
Seminar: Saturday 8 December at 11am at the Le Meridian Hotel
Consultations: 9, 10 and 11 December
Johannesburg
Seminar: Thursday 7 February 2013 at 7pm at the Michelangelo Hotel
Consultations: 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20 February
Durban
Seminar: Monday 11 February 2013 at 7pm at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel
Consultations: 12 and 13 February
Cape Town
Seminar: Thursday 14 February 2013 at 7pm at the Commodore Hotel
Consultations: 15 and 16 February
To book please go to www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars/.
The seminars are free to attend however, there is a charge for consultations (if required).
From
The IMMagine Team
www.immagine-immigration.com
Australia looks to Asia
Australia has recently announced a plan to further its trade and investment ties within the Asian region namely the white paper entitled Australia in the Asian Century which the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard recently unveiled. In this blog we examine the increased emphasis on ties and trade with Asia in terms of recent statistics relating to migration to Australia by certain Asian (and other) countries.
Australia’s economic performance has been admirable of late. It has remained recession free for 21 consecutive years, has an unemployment rate of 5.4% and has a forecast GDP growth of 3.5% for next year. However there are some storm clouds on the horizon. China’s slowing growth rate has accounted for lower mineral prices. That and the high Australian dollar are having a negative impact upon our mining / manufacturing sector. The white paper is a response to ensure Australia remains globally competitive.
The white paper covers topics from trade and investment, education, immigration, defence and corporate management.
It seeks to increase Australia’s trade with Asia from 25% to 33% by 2025 and talks about:
1. Offering 12,000 scholarships to allow Asian students, researchers and professionals to study in Australia
2. Ensuring every student in Australia who graduates from high school will have a knowledge of Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesian and or Japanese.
3. Longer stays for visitors from Asia.
4. The paper also encourages companies to have an increased appreciation of Asia.
It has been described as a roadmap but also sending a political message to the Asian region that Australia is open for business and ready to meet the region’s growing needs for food, energy, minerals, education and tourism. It is a signal of intent, shifting the focus to Asia and ensuring that Australian business and our educational system make changes to allow for that shifting focus to occur.
Because immigration figures will inevitably lag behind political rhetoric, the effects of this change in focus will only likely be felt in years to come. Whilst Asia is increasingly becoming the focus of the Australian government, Australia has long since been an attractive immigration destination for Asian countries, however, the figures below evidence some interesting anomalies.
Skilled migration [consisting of general skilled migration visas, employer nomination scheme, regionally sponsored migration scheme and business visas] accounted for:
Migration year Total Skilled Migration
2010 – 2011 113,725
2009 – 2010 107,868
2008 – 2009 114,777
Given that skilled migration numbers appear to be fairly stable over the last three years it’s interesting to see the variations amongst a few of the source countries particularly as some of these are IMMagine Australia's markets.
Migration year Singapore
2010 – 2011 1172
2009 – 2010 1369
2008 – 2009 1635
Interesting to note that Singapore has experienced a decrease in annual migration over the past three years of approximately 16% however seminar attendance at IMMagine Australia's seminars in Singapore has never been higher. It could be that the increase in seminar attendance we have found during the 2012 year will only be evidenced in the migration figures for the year 2013 – 2012. It might also be that a greater percentage of migrant workers in Singapore are considering migration to Australia than Singaporean nationals however our experience indicates that there is an even spread. A tightening of Singapore immigration rules of late would be expected to increase migrant outflows from Singapore.
That is why the next country we have looked at is Philippines as the majority of the migrant labour force in Singapore is comprised of Philippine nationals.
Migration year Philippines
2010 – 2011 7849
2009 – 2010 6832
2008 – 2009 5789
Consistent with my comments above we can see that Philippines has been experiencing average annual migration increases of 16% over the past three years. This is consistent with our experience in the Singapore market. Although we don’t present seminars directly in the Philippines we do have increased exposure to Philippine nationals who are working in Singapore.
Migration year Malaysia
2010 – 2011 4192
2009 – 2010 4277
2008 – 2009 4089
Malaysian statistics indicate a consistent demand over the past three years with not much deviation in numbers.
Migration year South Africa
2010 – 2011 7595
2009 – 2010 9885
2008 – 2009 10,485
There was a relatively large fall in the number of people applying for permanent residence under skilled migration categories between the years 2010 and 2011. A drop in the order of 2290 people is significant in the context of total migration from South Africa to Australia. Things certainly haven’t improved in South Africa of late and my take on the drop in figures (given the fact that our audience size has been relatively stable over the past few years) is that South Africans are increasingly becoming economic prisoners of South Africa.
The falling exchange rate and an inability to realize assets such as the family home have meant that significant numbers have been shelving their migration decisions in the hope of an improved exchange rate and more buoyant property market. As evidenced by our healthy audience sizes in South Africa the perceived need for migration hasn’t lessened. The crippling exchange rate isn’t going to improve so why wait until the Rand reaches 15 Rand to the AU Dollar?
Migration year China
2010 – 2011 20,441
2009 – 2010 14,505
2008 – 2009 13,927
A staggering almost 6000 people increase in China over the last migration year tends to support the increased emphasis on China. If one keeps in mind that English language criteria also increased during this period the increase in migration is even more remarkable. In terms of the White papers influence it’s a case of watch this space.
Migration year United Kingdom
2010 – 2011 18,091
2009 – 2010 18,487
2008 – 2009 23,177
United Kingdom has long since been regarded as Australia’s traditional source country. Migration figures after the global financial crisis were understandably higher than present but for the last two years migration has been steady with no appreciable rise or decline. This is probably attributable to a more stable economy in the United Kingdom.
Conclusion
All countries (like businesses) would like a wealthy trading partner to buy their goods and services however creating a meaningful relationship with a trading partner whether it be a country or market for a businesses goods and services requires significant investment in time, money and effort. It requires an understanding as to the needs of the region and to make sure that the prospect of deeper relations with Australia has a distinct benefit for that particular country.
We (IMMagine Australia) have learnt that it has taken a significant amount of time and effort to reap the benefits of our investment in our Asian markets namely Singapore and Malaysia. We have been visiting these countries for at least 10 years every two months to present seminars and meet prospective clients thereby developing an understanding as to what life is like for our clients and what they are seeking to achieve in Australia.
The Australian government is going to have to invest time and effort not only in quantifying what Australia wants from the deal but what our Asian neighbours would like as well. Developing a relationship such as envisaged in the white paper is a two-way street and there has to be palpable benefits for our Asian neighbours as well.
Forthcoming Seminars in Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa
Singapore
Seminar: Saturday 1 December at 11am at the Concorde Hotel
Consultations: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 December
Kuala Lumpur
Seminar: Saturday 8 December at 11am at the Le Meridian Hotel
Consultations: 9, 10 and 11 December
Johannesburg
Seminar: Thursday 7 February 2013 at 7pm at the Michelangelo Hotel
Consultations: 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20 February
Durban
Seminar: Monday 11 February 2013 at 7pm at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel
Consultations: 12 and 13 February
Cape Town
Seminar: Thursday 14 February 2013 at 7pm at the Commodore Hotel
Consultations: 15 and 16 February
To book please go to www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars/
The seminars are free to attend, however, there is a charge for consultations (if required).
From
The IMMagine Team
www.immagine-immigration.com
Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Rudest of Us All?
Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the rudest of us all?
‘How rude’ I thought to myself after my recent seminar in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia.
I'm not talking about the 45 or so people that attended the seminar but rather the 131 other registrants who didn't turn up. I'm also not referring to the handful of people who advised us that they wouldn't be able to attend the seminar but the 131 registrants that booked for the seminar, received our reminder notices and simply didn't turn up.
This is in marked contrast to the Singapore leg of my journey where of the 400 that registered approximately 200 attended the seminar. Like in KL a few had contacted us to let us know they could not make it and to them we remain grateful.
Does this make Singaporeans more polite than residents of KL ?
What probably prompted this line of thought was a series of introspective newspaper articles that appeared in the Star newspaper whilst I was in KL as to the level of courtesy in Malaysian society. See the edition of 24 July and the article ‘Rude awakening on courtesy’
Good on the Star newspaper for asking the hard questions.
They cited as the top 10 rude Malaysian habits:
• Unsafe driving
• Not obeying signboards
• Snatching parking spaces
• Not giving a seat on public transport for the pregnant or elderly
• Not giving way to exiting passengers on public transport
• Talking loudly on cell phones in public places
• Not holding open elevator doors
• Not saying thank you when someone does something nice for you
• Inconsiderate practices such as leaving shopping trolleys in parking lots
• Being late.
To the last item I would add, not arriving at all.
The newspaper article referred to a Reader's Digest poll which placed KL’s rudeness level at 34 of the 36 major cities in the world. The magazine said it was not a scientific survey. Researchers were sent to the cities where they tested people on 3 things:
• Whether people in front of them would hold the door open for them as they walked into public buildings 20 times.
• Whether sales assistants said thank you after they'd bought small items from 20 stores.
• Whether anyone would help pick up papers they'd dropped from a folder in 20 busy locations.
What they found was that KL is lacking in courtesy but it has to be said Singapore didn’t quite cover itself in glory either.
My colleagues at Immagine New Zealand have been quick to point out that Aucklanders are the 7th most polite. Somewhat surprisingly New Yorkers came out on top. Which proves that you can live, work and play in a thoroughly congested megacity but still exercise common courtesies toward your fellow man.
So what is your excuse Kuala Lumpur?
THE MOST COURTEOUS!
CITY SCORE
1 New York 80%
2 Zurich, Switzerland 77
3 Toronto, Canada 70
4 Berlin, Germany 68
Sao Paulo, Brazil 68
Zagreb, Croatia 68
7 Auckland, New Zealand 67
Warsaw, Poland 67
9 Mexico City, Mexico 65
10 Stockholm, Sweden 63
11 Budapest, Hungary 60
Madrid, Spain 60
Prague, Czech Republic 60
Vienna, Austria 60
15 Buenos Aires, Argentina 57
Johannesburg, SA 57
Lisbon, Portugal 57
London, UK 57
Paris, France 57
THE LEAST COURTEOUS!
CITY SCORE
20 Amsterdam, Netherlands 52%
21 Montreal, Canada 50
22 Helsinki, Finland 48
Manila, Philippines 48
24 Milan, Italy 47
Sydney, Australia 47
26 Bangkok, Thailand 45
Hong Kong 45
Ljubljana, Slovenia 45
29 Jakarta, Indonesia 43
Taipei, Taiwan 43
31 Moscow, Russia 42
Singapore 42
33 Seoul, South Korea 40
34 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 37
35 Bucharest, Romania 35
36 Mumbai, India 32
Does the higher seminar attendance make Singaporeans more polite than Malaysians?
Or perhaps the push factors driving migration from Singapore at this point in time are stronger than those in KL. Perhaps there is a “feel-good factor” in KL at present that I am unaware of. I personally believe that seminar attendance is influenced more by the “push” factors operating in a country at a particular point in time than the inherent politeness of a society.
As most of you are aware we present seminars regularly in South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia and we generally rely upon a significant no-show rate. If this seems incredibly high to you it's probably because you fall within the 33% who wouldn't dream of registering for a seminar and simply not turn up or notify the organizers. If you're thinking “so what” you probably fall in the majority who don’t turn up.
So how polite are Australians?
I've never presented a seminar in Australia so I cannot use my own yardstick in order to determine the politeness/rudeness of society in Australia but the Reader's Digest poll clearly didn't think very much of Sydney ranking this city in 24th place. I like to think that Melbourne would fare better being a more refined lot. Unfortunately [or fortunately] Melbourne was not included in the survey.
As you read this I am flying to South Africa for the next round of seminars. Johannesburg (my first stop) ranks a respectable 15th on the Readers Digest list so I look forward to seeing all of the 400 registrants at the seminar :).
Seminar schedule for South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia:
South African Seminars – October 2012
Johannesburg:
Seminar being held on Thursday 11 October at 7pm at the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton.
Consultations will be held on 12, 13, 14, 22, 23 and 24 October in Auckland Park.
Durban:
Seminar being held on Monday 15 October at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel in Umhlanga at 7pm.
Consultations being held on 16 and 17 October.
Cape Town:
Seminar being held on Thursday 18 October at the Newland Southern Sun Hotel at 7pm.
Consultations being held on 19 and 20 October at the Commodore Hotel.
Singapore seminar – December 2012
Singapore:
Seminar being held on Saturday 1 December at the Concorde Hotel at 11am.
Consultations will be held on the afternoon of 1 December, and the whole day 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 December.
Malaysia seminar – December 2012
Kuala Lumpur:
Seminar being held on Saturday 8 December at the Le Meridien Hotel at 11am.
Consultations will be held on the afternoon of 8 December, and the whole day 9, 10, 11 and 12 December.
Pass Mark Continues to Fall
Pass Mark Continues to Fall
I recently received an e-mail from someone in Cape Town that I'd previously consulted with a year ago advising me that he is still interested in immigrating to Australia but the property market in Cape Town is not buoyant and it's not a good time to sell. My advice to him was that there has never been a better time to apply for permanent residence in Australia under the General Skilled Migration visas [assuming that you are assessed as eligible] and we are entering what could be described as a "purple patch" of immigration to Australia.
General Skilled Migration residence visas are valid for a period of five years and during that time I'm sure that the property market in Cape Town would have improved but your chances of obtaining permanent residence in Australia will probably never be as good as now.
In the Pool Draw that occurred on 1 October applicants scoring 65 points were selected from the independent subclass (189) for the second time since SkillSelect was implemented on 1 July. The previous selection point from the first round was 75 points indicating a substantial drop in the pass mark. In part this is due to the larger sample of applicants selected namely 900 as opposed to 450.
Your chances of selection in these subclasses depend upon various factors such as:
The points that you obtain
The points that others obtain
The date you submitted your Expression Of Interest
The number of Expressions Of Interest selected in any particular pool draw
The statistics do not tell us how many applicants were left in the pool after the last pool draw but we submitted an Expression Of Interest for a client for an independent 189 visa on 1 September with 65 points and it was selected on 1 October which means that the pool cannot be very "deep" if applicants with scores of 65 points are now being selected and we can envisage a date in the not-too-distant future when the pass mark for the independent visa falls to 60 points.
In previous blogs we emphasized the importance of obtaining state sponsorship in order to guarantee your selection because those applicants who are state sponsored only have to score 60 points and do not have to compete in pool draws. Some of you will need state sponsorship irrespective of your points score was because your occupations appear on the Consolidated Skilled Occupations List [CSOL] and not the Skilled Occupations List (SOL).
Only applicants who have nominated occupations on the SOL are able to submit applications for subclass 189 and family sponsored 489. Predictably the number of occupations contained in the SOL is much shorter than those contained on the CSOL and this probably accounts for a smaller number of expressions of interest to select from and hence the need for an ever falling pass mark.
The fly in the ointment
Why then the urgency to submit expressions of interest? There are several reasons.
1. Occupational ceilings.
There are annual quotas of the various occupations on the SOL and CSOL. These include those that have been approved not only under general skilled migration visas but also under employer sponsored residence visa programs.
2. Limited occupations and occupational quotas available in state/territory sponsorship lists.
State/territory sponsors produce lists of occupations that they are prepared to sponsor depending upon the needs of their economies. These lists are produced on 1 July and once the quota for a particular occupation is reached that occupation is listed as unavailable for the rest of immigration year and is no guarantee that it will appear on next years list.
3. Supply and demand.
As news spreads of lower pass marks more expressions of interest will be submitted which will influence pass marks.
Attend one of our free seminars
If the foregoing paragraphs inspire you to investigate migration to Australia we suggest that you attend one of our free seminars. (http://immagine-immigration.com/seminars/south-africa/). If after attending one of our seminars you are interested in having an assessment you can arrange a consultation after the seminar. You also have the option of pre-booking a consultation by e-mailing Ruth on ruth@immagine-immigration.com. The next round of seminars for October will be in South Africa details of which appear below.
Seminars for Singapore and Malaysia are likely to be finalized for late November/early December and should be on our website in the next week or two.
South African Seminars – October 2012
Johannesburg:
Seminar being held on Thursday 11 October at 7pm at the Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton.
Consultations will be held on 12, 13, 14, 22, 23 and 24 October in Auckland Park.
Durban:
Seminar being held on Monday 15 October at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel in Umhlanga at 7pm.
Consultations being held on 16 and 17 October.
Cape Town:
Seminar being held on Thursday 18 October at the Newland Southern Sun Hotel at 7pm.
Consultations being held on 19 and 20 October at the Commodore Hotel.
Homework? ... Not on my Holidays
The Australian Government recently announced they will inject $6 billion dollars in funding for education in Australia. Apparently the current funding model that sees a low unemployment rate and a highly developed nation among the world’s best is not enough.
I am aware that education is an important factor in the decision for a family who is looking at migrating to Australia. It is hard to compare education programs between countries, but I have noticed some trends from speaking with those in the countries that we visit.
Consulting with a potential applicant in Singapore recently on a Sunday, they said their daughters could not attend the consultation because they were doing their homework.... on a Sunday! What made it more interesting is that it was the last day of their holidays after taking a week off, in which they were given more homework because they had more time to do it.
Now correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t a holiday or break meant to be just that... a break from school? I can tell you that although students in Australia are given homework on a regular basis, if anyone has to do homework during their holidays or on a Sunday for that matter, there would be a mutiny - an uprising of students between the ages of 6 and 18, forcing teachers into the naughty corner and not releasing them until their demands are met! They would develop their own union calling for 2 days on and 3 days off, and homework to be given only on Wednesdays, for a maximum of 1 hour, with a 15 minute break.
This is of course an extreme outcome but it does signify a difference in the education systems of Singapore and Australia. Both countries put a high emphasis on education as it is extremely important in ensuring the next generation are adequately equipped to deal with an increasingly complicated world.
However in Australia, there is a balance on how much study one needs to do, with an emphasis of kids having fun and developing other life skills. Simply letting kids be kids. Intense study should be saved for University, end of school exams and the day before an assignment is due... particularly if you were like me and hadn’t actually started it.
My childhood was spent occasionally doing homework, but more so playing sports or hanging out with friends, doing chores that my parents gave me during the holidays and conning my friends into helping me.
I will add that I never had a tutor either and even the parents who actually hire a tutor only do so if their child is struggling with their school work. In fact, I do not know of anyone who had a tutor as most parents seem to fancy themselves as academic gurus when it comes to helping their kids do their homework.
My colleague’s son has a friend who is from Singapore. She was coming home from school crying everyday because she could not cope with the pressure of performing at a suitable level. Her parents decided to send her to school in Australia and pay the higher international school fees to give her a better educational experience. She has since said that she is much happier and is not keen on returning to Singapore at the end of her studies.
Whilst the education system in Singapore is considered to be of a high quality and with the pressure applied it should be, many parents in South Africa are simply looking for schools that will provide a decent education. The only real guarantee that will happen is to send them to a private school. Parents are very hesitant to send their child to a public school for fear of not getting a quality education. So much so they are prepared to pay expensive private school fees to ensure their child gets a decent opportunity in their future.
I probably do not need to mention the recent textbook scandal in South Africa. Schools had ordered new textbooks for their students and, after they were paid for, had them delivered to the school. However, some of the more remote schools did not have their books delivered, simply because it was too difficult or too far to get to. Obviously the company, which happens to be owned by a relative of the President, has had a few logistical issues. Not sure if they were offering a refund for the books.
It seems students are not the only ones to suffer at the hands of a nation’s education system. I met with a teacher in South Africa who had not been paid for the past two months. I can’t ever imagine this happening in Australia.
Australia is by no means perfect in its education system, however one can guarantee their children will get a quality education, either at a public or private school, textbooks in hand, and be afforded the opportunities to succeed in their adult life.
Australia will also offer your children a chance to enjoy their childhood without intense pressure to be the best at school and have a healthy balance between homework and lifestyle.
If you would like to know more about lifestyle in Australia and are considering moving, you can register for one of our free seminars.
Forthcoming seminars
South Africa
Johannesburg : Thursday 11 October at 7pm at the Michelangelo Hotel
Consulting days will be 12, 13, 14, 22, 23 and 24 October
Durban : Monday 15 October at 7pm at the Endless Horizons Boutique Hotel
Consulting days will be 16 and 17 October
Cape Town : Thursday 18 October at the Newlands Southern Sun Hotel
Consulting days will be on 19 and 20 October.
To book for South African seminars go to : http://www.immagine-immigration.com/seminars/south-africa/
