Protection Visa – Immigration Lawyer Sydney

There are two types of protection Visa.

• Permanent Protection Visa – subclass 866
• Temporary Protection Visa – subclass 785

Permanent Visa subclass 866

The permanent protection Visa is for foreign individuals who arrive in Australia on a valid visa and need to seek asylum.
This permanent visa allows the holder to live and work in Australia as a permanent resident, with access to Medicare Heath care and Centrelink services.

To be eligible for the Permanent Visa:

• You arrived in Australia on a valid visa, not through any illegal travel.
• You are appealing to Australia for protection and to meet the obligations.
• You have evidence of being a refugee.
• You meet health and character requirements.
• You have not been barricaded from lodging a Visa application.
• The minister is satisfied that granting your Visa works in the national interest.

A spouse and children (and sometimes other dependant relatives) may be included in the Protection Visa application.

The successful applicant may:

• Live permanently in Australia, and work or study.
• Make use of Medicare and Centrelink
• Sponsor family members and some relatives.
• Attended Free English classes, under some circumstances.
• Travel in and out of the country for 5 years
• In some cases apply for Australian citizenship

If this Visa is refused or cancelled the individual becomes an unlawful non-citizen, and will be placed in immigration detention. From here they may apply and perhaps be granted protection or removal pending Visa in the future, or they may be deported.

The cost of this Visa (866) is $40 Australian.

Temporary Visa subclass 785

The temporary Protection Visa maybe granted to those who arrive in Australia without a Visa.

This allows a foreign individual to stay in Australia for a limited prespecified period of time, with a maximum of three years. Often the specified period is shorter. During this time they may work or study and access Centerlink and Medicare, though this access may have restrictions.

Individuals on a Temporary Protection Visa may not return to their country of origin, and can only travel to other countries if granted written permission by the Home affairs Office. They cannot sponsor other individuals for Visas.

The cost of this Temporary Protection Visa (785) is $40 Australian

If the temporary Visa is due to expire the individual may apply for another Temporary Protection Visa (785) or in some rare cases a Safe Haven Visa (790). They are not permitted to apply for any other type of Visa.

In the rare event that an individual has been granted a Safe Haven Visa they may latter apply for some other types of Visa when this Safe Haven Visa is due to expire.

Immigration Lawyer Sydney

Permanent or Temporary Protection Visas allow individuals to stay in Australia, but may limit other Visa options in the future.

Student Visas and Work – Immigration Lawyer Sydney

Immigrants on Student Visas will now be allowed to work a greater number of hours. This is to help with the workplace shortages.

These extended work hours are a temporary measure, planned to extend to the end of June 2023. Individuals on a study Visa will now be permitted to work for more than 40 hours per fortnight in any area where they are suitable qualified. They may also work during the waiting period before their course of study commences.

This temporary removal of the previous 40-hour cap is not meant to compromise study commitments. Students must be responsible and maintain the course enrolment, attendance and achieve satisfactory progress.

Any student visa holder who cancels their study will be seen as in breach of their visa conditions.

Employers and Students – Immigration Lawyer Sydney

While foreign students on study visas may now work longer hours the work conditions are otherwise unaffected. International students and overseas workers have the same rights as local employees.

Under a student Visa you may:

• Enrol and participate in an eligible course of study
• Stay up to 5 years, according to the length of your course.
• Bring family members to Australia while you are studying.
• Work to support yourself (the 40 hour per fortnight cap applies after June 2023).
• You must hold Overseas student Health cover.
• Those under 18 years of age must have a welfare arrangement.
• The minimum age for a student visa is 6

Immigration Lawyer Sydney

With the lifting of Covid restriction the economy and immigration rules have changed. Talk to us about the new immigration situation.

Immigration Lawyer Sydney

The Australian Government has a series of formal agreements with various states, regions, and territories to provide access to more overseas workers. This goes beyond the standard skill migration program both in flexibility of employment and the number of people brought into the country. The idea is to find qualified/skilled people from overseas and bring them into positions where they are needed. The obvious advantages are twofold: Australia fills the jobs where we are short staffed; overseas people will have an opportunity to work in the country doing a job they are qualified for.

The limit to these agreements is that while paid employment is provided for eligible applicants, those individuals will be required to live and work in a specified area. These are often outback country areas, but some smaller cities are also in the program. This is simply because these specific areas are where the work is needed the most.

The Designated Area Migration Agreement is generally in effect for 5 years. And it will use the either the subclass 482 Temporary Skills shortage Visa, 492 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa or the 186 Employer Nominated Scheme Visa Program.

There are about a dozen areas in the program. This may vary as different job are required, or if different areas find themselves understaffed.

• Adelaide City Technology, SA
• South Australia Regional, SA
• Pilbara, WA
• East Kimberley, WA
• Pilbara, WA
• South West, WA
• The Goldfields, WA
• Townsville, QLD
• Far North Queensland, QLD (Cairns)
• Goulburn Valley, VIC
• Great South Coast, VIC
• Northern Territory, NT
• Orana, NSW
• Townsville, QLD

Employers in the above areas must be apply for and be granted endorsement from the Designated Area Representative before nominating skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers. Employers should offer positions to Citizens and permanent residents of Australia before seeking overseas workers.

Individuals interested in migration should consult an Immigration Lawyer Sydney about this Designated Area Visa program, or one of the other immigration possibilites. This can also be a pathway to permanent residency.

Immigration Lawyer Sydney

Immigration is subject to complex, changing laws. There are presently positions for qualified individuals in regions areas.

IELTS Language – Immigration Lawyer Sydney

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is a test to measure an individual’s ability with English language. A migrant has to achieve a certain level of competency, as measured by the IELTS, to be eligible for study or work in Australia. Even if a migrant does not work or study the IELTS test can still be important, as it counts towards the point they need for immigration.

There are two main variations of the IELTS test, general and academic. Those who want a student VISA should look at the academic test.

The IELTS test has 4 sections. Candidates must perform reasonably well on all sections. A high result in one section will only be of limited benefit, and not really compensate for a poor performance in other sections.

The sections are:

• Speaking – Answering oral questions, including the reasons for taking IELTS, and responding to an interview. Approx. 15 minutes.
• Listening – required to answer questions to show their level of comprehension. The questions are set first, so the candidate knows what to listen for.
• Writing – A one hour test with two sections. Answers must be complete (structured and ending with a conclusion) and exceed a minimum word count of 150 and 250 words.
• Reading – Answer 40 questions from a text of over 2000 words. Approx. 1 hour.

A large portion of the test is handwritten. It is quite possible for poor handwriting to compromise the result of the IELTs test.

Different areas of study in Australian Universities require different IELTS results. This depends on the both the institution and the area of study. Often an individual will be eligible for some areas of study with an IELTS of 6.5 minimum more in all 4 sections. Some universities require 7.0 or more averaged over all 4 sections. More advanced areas of study, or areas more focused on English language, may require higher scores.

The minimum IELTS result for academic study in an area and the minimum IELTS result for practicing in that same area may be different. You may need a result of 6.5 to study dentistry, and later need a result of 7.0 to be a practicing dentist.

Some alternatives to the IELTS test are:

• TOEFL (Test of English As a Foreign Language)
• The DET (Duolingo English Test)
• PTE (Pearson Test of English)

Some of these tests are computer based rather than handwritten. Individuals with good typing skills might perform better on these computer-based tests, some or which can be performed at home with online internet/skype monitoring. Otherwise, IELTS is considered slightly easier than TOEFL.

The IELTS test will cost about AUD$400.oo, as of 2022. Other tests are similar in cost.

Immigration Lawyer Sydney

Immigration for work or study will usually require proof of language skill. Talk to us about legal Visa advice.