For those of you who may not be following the political debate in Australian, and with a federal election coming up on August 21st, migration is a very hot topic.

The bad news is that both of the main political parties have made it part of their political agenda to cut migration numbers because they believe that the current inflows are not sustainable over the long term.

They are now using the catch-word “sustainable population growth” when talking about the future numbers for migration intake.

However, it is clear that the business sector does not agree with the political view. They see acute labour shortages on the horizon due to an aging population and a low birth rate. They depend on skilled migration to supply their labour needs.

The truth is that the domestic working age population in Australia is shrinking and therefore businesses have no alternative but to look to skilled migration to fill the gap.

In 2009 they granted visas to about 300,000 workers to come to Australia to work. That set the high water benchmark. It will most certainly go down this year and over the next couple of years. It could go as low as 175,000.

The competition for skilled occupation entry into Australia will clearly be getting a lot more intense.

Australian Visa Experts is able to help you find out quickly whether or not you have any realistic chance of getting a business, skilled, sponsored or student visa.

Just send in your enquiry to us from our website.

AUSTRALIAN VISA EXPERTS

The annual intake of migrants is now a very hot political issue in Australia. The intake went as high as 300,000 and has now fallen to 240,000 and will fall to 145,000 in 2011-2012.

There is a national debate going on right now about the sustainability of population growth in Australia. The government has just appointed its first Population Minister.

The recent May Federal Budget froze the overall permanent migration intake at 168,700.

However there was in INCREASE in SKILLED MIGRATION intake of 5750.

Right now the key to successful and fast tracked migration to Australia is the new high demand list published by the government for skilled occupations. See our earlier blog post on this.

Australian Visa Experts has the expertise and experience to assess your chances of success quickly and if you qualify to get your visa application lodged with minimum delay. If you don’t yet qualify for permanent visa we can assist you to find an employer sponsor to sponsor you on a temporary visa until such time as you qualify for a permanent visa.

The government is tightening up its laws, regulations and policies around migration, so if you truly wish to live and work in this beautiful country you had best move quickly.

We are on standby ready to assist you realize your dreams.

Australian Visa Experts

There is a lot of debate going on in Australia about how many migrants to take in each year, and who should be given priority for visas.

The two main political parties are arguing over the issue of how many migrants per year is sustainable in Australia.

Business is very concerned that the intake not be reduced so that they cannot find the skilled workers they need if their demand for certain skills exceeds what is available to them from the local employment market.

There is another issue to - the aging population. In 40 years the project more than 8 million Australians will be aged 65 of more. Right now only 3 million are aged 65 or more. So that is a very big increase and it raises concerns as to how aged care will be financed out of taxation if there are not enough younger people in the work force paying tax.

Most commentators agree that Australia cannot afford not to take in at least 180,000 migrants a year.

So this is good news for potential migrants IF you have the right sort of skills needed by Australia now and into the future.

There is also a much bigger emphasis now on having good English speaking skills.

The indications are that the most favored skills needed now and over next decade will be more white collar than blue collar and will favor professionals in manufacturing and administrative roles.

Demand will continue to strengthen for temporary 457 visas.

Australian Visa Experts is offering a paid service to help match qualifying skilled workers with employers to sponsor them under a 457 visa.

If you are interested in such assistance please use our special enquiry form by using FIND A SPONSOR from our Menu.

We look forward to helping you.

AUSTRALIAN VISA EXPERTS

Dear Visitor

There is regular news in the press and also being published by migration agent representative bodies that is sending out a clear warning to the international public who are considering migrating to Australia to live and work - BEWARE OF POORLY QUALIFIED OR UNETHICAL MIGRATION AGENTS.

We publish below two recent statements about this, one of them published in the daily paper and the other by the Migration Agents’ Authority, a national body representing migration agents.

We publish these articles to emphasize the importance of dealing with reputable and highly qualified immigration experts like at Australian Visa Experts.

Here they are -

THE MEDIA REPORT

Thousands of Indians are being enrolled in “dodgy” courses in Australia, while others are paying up to $20,000 for a good result in the International English Language Test System exam, an investigation into the overseas student industry has found.

Following a recent spate of attacks on Indian students in Australia, The Australian reports the nation’s $14-billion international education sector has turned into a recognised immigration racket.

Last week, police arrested three people in Punjab, the main feeder community for Indian students in Australia, for impersonation and forgery after they were caught sitting the IELTS exam for aspiring foreign students.

Other scams have involved operators across the Punjab arranging “contract marriages” for aspiring migrants to partners who have passed the mandatory English test for a student visa.

For an additional fee, agents have arranged bank documents and loans to satisfy Australian immigration law that demands students have the means to support themselves for the duration of their course, the newspaper says.

There are 500,000 international students living in Australia. Of these, 20 per cent are Indian.

Universities on average rely on international students for 15 per cent of their revenue.

FROM MIGRATION AGENTS AUTHORITY

Migration profession’s opportunity for change: Report released

30 June 2009 —

Even though they assist thousands of potential Australians to live and work here, migration agents have been slammed as poorly trained and shonky. But Registered Migration Agents are standing up for the profession, determined to raise standards and strengthen ethics.

The Migration Institute of Australia commissioned an independent researcher, Randall Pearce of Think: Insight & Advice, to undertake a study of stakeholders’ perceptions of the Australian migration advice profession. This report, entitled Changing Together, is released today.

Stakeholders who deal with Registered Migration Agents were interviewed for the study. They included university educators, skills assessment authorities, migrant resource centres, refugee advocates, parliamentarians, courts and tribunals, departmental officials and media.

Many respondents were quick to point out that most agents regularly perform to a high standard; unfortunately, a troublesome minority make a disproportionately negative impact on the image of all Australian migration agents.

The findings have been compiled along with proposals for reform put forward by the migration advice profession in response to the research. Opportunities for change include:

Comprehensive reform to the education and training of agents

Requiring current Registered Migration Agents to requalify to a higher standard of English language and professional competence

Introduce a tiered system of registration to protect consumers

Formation of an independent complaints body with the power to review fees

Responsibility for bringing about change should be shared by all stakeholders, including the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in their new role managing the profession’s regulation authority, the Office of the MARA.

As the professional association, the Migration Institute of Australia knows that agents have taken ownership of the issues. The next step is to develop co-operative strategies with other stakeholders to implement the action plans from the report.

Hard copies of the report are available free by contacting info@mia.org.au or calling us on +61 2 9279 3140

A series of meetings with MIA members will be held around Australia to discuss the report and gather feedback.

Changing Together: Perceptions and proposals for reform from stakeholders in the migration advice community