Visa System in Australia - Assignment Example

Australia’s Visa System The Case of Megawati A Ans Since Megawati is within the Australian jurisdiction at the time she would be submitting her application, she would be eligible to file for an onshore visa.1 The following are the visa subclasses listed under the Migrations Regulations 1994 which are available as options for Megawati taking into consideration her qualifications: Skilled-Independent visa (subclass 885); Skilled-Sponsored visa (subclass 886); Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 121/856). The Skill Matching Scheme2 requires the primary applicant to submit the application prior to September 1, 2007, hence, Megawati is too late to avail of it. Megawati is qualified under the said Act for subclass visas 885 (Skilled-Independent) and 886 (Skilled-Sponsored) because she meets the basic requirements under subitem 1136 (4) of Part 1, Schedule 1 of the said law which are as follows: (a) (i) the applicant must be a holder of an eligible visa (Megawati has valid student visa); (b) (i) the applicant is less than 45 years of age (Megawati is just 23 years old), (ii) the applicant nominates a skilled occupation in the application with at least 50 points (on her application Megawati can nominate the position of chef which has 50 points).3 In addition, Megawati likewise satisfied the following requirements under 885.211 of the aforesaid Act : (a) the applicant satisfied a 2-year study requirement which was completed within the last 6 months prior to the application and ended immediately before the day the application was made (Megawati completed her last course just four weeks ago), and (b) each degree, diploma or trade qualifications in re the 2-year study requirement is closely related to the applicant’s nominated skill occupation (if Megawati will nominate the skill of Chef under the Skill Occupations List, the skill is closely allied to her course Commercial Cookery and Advance Hotel Management). Likewise, Megawati is qualified to apply for the Employer Nomination Scheme (856) because she meets the following relevant criteria: she is a holder of a valid student visa which is set to expire yet on the 30th of September 2008; 4 her aunt agreed to sponsor as her employer; (if) her aunt agrees to pay her the amount of salary specified in a Gazette Notice;5 Megawati is below 45 years old, and presumed to be competent in English as she was able to finish all her courses which were conducted in English and she was adjudged a very good student considering that she was accelerated from a 12-month course to just 8 months, and has the requisite diploma. 6 (meaning Megawati’s diploma falls within the ambit of the appropriate regulation, viz. 1.15AA of the Migration Regulation 1994). Megawati can nominate the occupation Chef as her skilled occupation listed under the Skills Occupation List (SOL) under Associate Professionals because it has a 50 point score and she had some relevant experience as a cook in the past. Under visa subclasses 885 and 886, she needs to have her skills assessed by an assessing officer before she lodged her application to provide evidence that she did so apply although the return need not be available at the time of the application. 7 Anent visa subclass 856, Megawati need not apply for assessment, partly because it must be coupled with a 3-year work experience 8 which she cannot meet and because she has the option to request her aunt to give her salary as required and published in the Gazette.9 Her application must be lodged on-line at the Australian Immigration web site or by completing the new form 1276 and submitting by mail or by courier to the address which is listed on the form. If the visa chosen is one with a sponsor, the latter’s application must follow the latter’s method of sending. B Ans.: Yes, Megawati satisfies the two-year study requirement because the courses Commercial Cookery and Advanced Diploma in Hospitality Management are allied, both of which are in the hospitality field and are registered courses. Hence, the 18- month of the Commercial Cookery course is added to the 12 months of Advanced Hospitality Management which equals to two years and a half which she completed in 26 months, therefore within the ambit of the minimum 16 months requirements. In addition, the courses were all conducted in English. Under Regulation 1.15F10 the following are the requirements in re the 2-year study: registered courses; the course or courses must have been completed in at least 16 months (Megawati completed hers in a total of 26 months); the academic study must have been taken under normal circumstances in two years (the courses of Megawati can be taken normally as a full student for 30 months or 2 years and 6 months); the courses were conducted in English and; the courses were taken in Australia. (Megawati took and finished her courses in Melbourne, Australia). Anent her English test score, she needs to submit proof of her English proficiency during her application which necessitates her taking the IELTS before actually applying for a permanent visa. This is a requirement under 885 and 886 and the required score corresponds to vocational English or a score of a minimum of 5 for each of the divisions in the IELTS exam which are writing, reading, listening and speaking. 11. C Ans.: The estimated score which Megawati would get in the Points Test System are the following: Occupation - 40; Age -30 ; English Language – 15 (minimum); Specific Work Experience - 0; Australian Employment - 20; Australian Qualifications - 5; Occupation in Demand - 15; Regional Study - 5; Designated Area Sponsorship - 0 ; Designated Language – 5: TOTAL = 135. Megawati will pass the Skilled-Independent visa (885) which has a required score of 120, the Skilled-Sponsored Visa (886) which has a required score of 100. The visa subclass 856 does not require any point testing. I will recommend that Megawati apply for a Skilled-Sponsored visa or subclass 886 under the Migration Regulation Act of 1994 because she meets all of the requirements, without a doubt, .under the said subclass. The requirements as evidenced by the point testing score requirement was lower than the other two, and therefore easier to reach in the event that her skills assessment will turn out low considering that her experience was only for one year and half which was not so extensive. The Employer Sponsored visa, on the other hand, has too many requirements and quite complicated especially on the part of Megawati’s aunt, who will be her sponsor-employer. Read More