There have been continual changes made to immigration regulations in Australia over the years. The expected changes in 2019 are:

Partner Visas

The process is expected to be longer, with the sponsorship needing approval before it is lodged. This requires a character, health and history check of the partner, which may be difficult (or at least even more time consuming) for those still overseas.

Partners may also be excluded if the relationship is not seen as genuine, or if the Australian partner is not eligible for sponsorship.

A two year wait for approval is expected. Advice from an immigration expert will not reduce this waiting time, but is can prevent waiting in vain. Expert immigration advice prevents application mistakes or situations where immigration is unlikely to be approved. This prevent individuals wasting their A$7000 application fee.

Parent Visas

Permanent residents and Australian citizens will be able to bring parents form overseas on a visa. The visas are valid for 3 to 5 years, renewable for a total of no more than 10 years.

Students visa finance.

Any students applying for a visa will need to provide evidence of A$20,290 in funds. Additional funds of A$7100 are needed for a partner, and A$3040 for each dependent child.

ATO tax file Records for employer sponsorship

To prevent underpaying of workers all individuals on 457/482 visas will require ATO tax file numbers to certify the correct payment and work allocation from their employers.

South Australia Entrepreneurs

To encourage start up businesses in South Australia the state government has fairly modest financial and IELTS requirements for any foreigner with a viable business idea.

Immigration Lawyer Sydney

With the ever changing Australian Immigration law the best advice, and the best change for legal immigration. Comes from an experienced immigration lawyer.

There is more media attention and political attention paid to asylum seekers arriving by boat than the greater number of asylum seekers arriving by plane. Australian Prime Minster Scott Morrison has defended this policy, noting the different situations. People who try to come to Australia by boat suffer poor condition that may be life threatening. They are at the mercy of people smugglers, an unofficial trade that is ethically questionable and never open to any supervision or checks. Boat immigration is risky for the individual immigrant who suffer poor travel conditions, and risky for the Australian nation because the individual immigrants cannot be checked beforehand,

By contrast, immigrants on a plane have already passed a character and background check. They are basically moving through official channels that provide some sound safety for the country and the individual immigrant

An easily overlooked loophole here is plane travelling individuals who come on tourist visas and claim asylum after they arrive. They have bypassed the character tests of the official channels.

The issue of people arriving by boat has recently come back into the news media because of people on Manus and Nauru Island. Changes in the Australian law means that hundreds of people from these two islands will come to the country for medical treatment. It will still be possible to block entry for any individuals from these islands if they prove to be of dubious character or are seen as a security threat, but this power to refuse entry has now been reduced. 

The prime Minister claims that the Labour governments’ decisions on the Manus and Nauru Island have weakened national security, increasing the risk of allowing criminals into the country.

Recently some immigration related services on the Manus Island have been awarded to a little know company called Paladin. This has been controversial.

Immigration Lawyer Sydney

The best chance for legal immigration to Australia is through official channels, and through the services of an immigration lawyer.