This Week’s Migration News Round-up

Migration Weekly

1. Canberra policy shake-up! 190 no longer needs a job offer, 491 needs just one year of work experience

2. Victoria’s latest ROI round — multiple IT applicants secure 190 on a raw 75, accountants on 85!

3. Latest news on Tasmania’s invitations — thresholds likely to ease

4. Will the migration reform be officially announced next Thursday, 27 April?

5. Weekly round-up: grants, invitations, skills assessments and citizenship processing progress

New Zealand citizens can move easily to Australian citizenship — no need to convert to PR first!

This Saturday Australia officially announced that, from 1 July 2023, New Zealand citizens settled in Australia will have a direct pathway to Australian citizenship!

From 1 July 2023, New Zealand citizens who have lived in Australia for four years or more will be eligible to apply directly for Australian citizenship, without first having to convert to Australian PR.

Australian citizenship requires the applicant to have lawfully resided in Australia for the four years immediately before applying, and to have held a PR-class visa while living in Australia for at least 12 months.

This new policy treats Subclass 444 holders as PR from 1 July 2022, allowing New Zealand citizens to meet the citizenship requirements simply by holding a 444.

From 1 July 2023:

– All New Zealand citizens currently holding an SCV 444 visa will be classified as Australian PR for the purposes of a citizenship application

– For New Zealand citizens whose SCV 444 visa was granted before 1 July 2022, their permanent residence period will be backdated to 1 July 2022

– New Zealand citizens whose SCV 444 visa was granted after 1 July 2022 will be treated as Australian permanent residents from the day their SCV was granted

*The above applies not only to New Zealand citizens currently settled in Australia, but also to New Zealand citizens currently overseas who held an SCV when they last left Australia

*It also applies to the children of 444 holders.Also from 1 July 2023, children born in Australia whose parents are 444 holders may, if eligible, apply for evidence of citizenship. Newborns will automatically acquire Australian nationality!

1. Canberra policy shake-up! 190 no longer needs a job offer, 491 needs just one year of work experience

The long-promised Canberra policy changes have finally landed. An email notice went out to agents on 20 April, and on the afternoon of 21 April it was announced to take effect immediately, with the official website now updated. This is a major overhaul: the occupation list has been expanded by 128 occupations, the offshore and onshore pre-requisite thresholds have been revised, and the matrix points and some guideline details have also changed. The biggest wins are for offshore applicants — let’s unpack it!

The offshore pre-requisites have removed the 190 job-offer requirement, and 491 now needs just one year of work experience and IELTS 6 in all four bands. After the changes:

To apply for 491 you only need:An EOI of 65 points (your own EOI only needs to reach 50 points) + an occupation on the Canberra list with a valid skills assessment + one year of relevant work experience + English 4 in all four bands + settled offshore

To apply for 190 you only need:An EOI of 65 points (your own EOI only needs to reach 60 points) + an occupation on the Canberra list with a valid skills assessment + three years of relevant work experience + English 7 in all four bands

The occupation list has been expanded by 128 occupations — it almost certainly covers yours:

– Finance Manager / Human Resource Manager

– Construction Project Manager

– Restaurant and Cafe Manager / Customer Service Manager

– Events and Conference Organiser

– Copywriter

– Accountant / Auditor / Finance and Investment Manager

– Human Resource Adviser

– Actuary / Statistician

– Organisation and Methods Analyst / Information and Organisation Professional

– Advertising Specialist / Marketing Specialist / Public Relations Professional

– Architect / Landscape Architect

– Graphic Designer / Multimedia Designer

– Engineers of all kinds / Engineering Draftsperson / Engineering Technician

– Computing occupations of all kinds

– University Lecturer / Vocational Trainer / English Language Teacher / Interpreter

– Chef / Cook / Hairdresser / Massage Therapist

– Contract Administrator / Program Administrator

– Property Manager / Real Estate Salesperson

An EOI of just 65 points secures an invitation, and the Matrix score needed is even lower!

Canberra uses its own scoring system, the Matrix. Onshore and offshore applicants are selected separately, in principle from the highest score down, but the offshore invitation scores are not at all competitive: 65 points is the Matrix invitation benchmark, yet because of a shortage of applicants, recent offshore invitation Matrix scores have already dropped to 50–65 points!

For more details, see:Canberra policy changes are here! 128 new occupations! Great news offshore — 190 no longer needs a job offer! Onshore English and work requirements both lowered!

Offshore applicants who already have a skills assessment can lodge right now! If you don’t have one yet, get it done immediately — you may still make it this financial year. There are 70 days left in this financial year and Canberra still has 1,483 places remaining — it’s all opportunity! Get your assessment underway, fast!

By the way, Canberra is also known for inviting frequently and steadily. It had just issued a round on 5 April, and on the afternoon of 21 April it issued another round(still under the old criteria) — that round was still issued under the old criteria. The occupations invited in the 21 April round were:

Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering

ICT BA, Web Developer, ICT Project Manager, Software Engineer, ICT Security Specialist, Software and Applications Programmer, Network Administrator

External Auditor, Accountant

Restaurant or Cafe Manager

Registered Nurse, and more

2. Victoria’s latest ROI round — multiple IT applicants secure 190 on a raw 75, accountants on 85!

Victoria also issued invitations this week, and this 18 April round included not only fast-track and priority occupations, but also quite a few IT occupations, as well as Accountants and Auditors

Victoria closes submissions of new ROIs on 5 May, and May is likely to be the final round! Medical, nursing and social work occupations are still very easy to get invited in, and Victoria has no length-of-residence requirement — get in touch to find out more!

3. Latest news on Tasmania’s invitations — thresholds likely to ease

Tasmania held its April information session this week — plenty of good news there too!

– Quota usage — looking positive

As at 17 April

190 places used: 1,559; places remaining: 591

491 places used: 1,509; places remaining: 591

Processing has currently reached cases lodged before 5 April 2023

– Even applicants with weaker profiles have a chance of being invited!

State official Martin made clear during this session that they would do their utmost to issue invitations. The “Gold” and “Green” applicants across the working, graduate and long-term residence pathways have now largely been cleared, and while heavily inviting Orange Pass holders, the state is also gradually easing the number of Priority Attributes required

– No release letter needed to leave Tasmania

The state official clarified the claim that you need to apply to the state government for a Release Letter to leave Tasmania: once applicants have been granted their visa, if their life or career plans change and they need to leave Tasmania, they do not need to obtain a Release Letter from the government.

For more details, see:April Tasmania Seminar I State official says they’ll try to issue more invitations — a hint of easing? The Orange pathway will gradually loosen! Plenty of places remain and processing will speed up!

Tasmania still looks after its onshore applicants — hang in there and your invitation will come! For a consultation, get in touch:

4. Will the migration reform be officially announced next Thursday, 27 April?

Last week we learned that the Minister for Home Affairs indicated the outcome of the major migration reform would be released before 9 May (at least an interim outcome), very likely including policy changes coming in the near term.

The Minister for Home Affairs will speak at the National Press Club next Thursday, 27 April, on the subject of migration reform — so there’s a chance the changes will be announced that very day, or at the very least that there’ll be fresh developments!

The Newstarsec team has already registered to attend, and will be on site to bring you the news first-hand!

Add our consultant below and include the note: Reform，Apply to join the reform live-updates group!

5. Weekly round-up: grants, invitations, skills assessments and citizenship processing progress

A round-up of recent Newstarsec grants and invitations across the board:Press and hold below to view — the page is updated continuously, so we strongly recommend you save and bookmark it!

State nomination invitations / GTI invitation statistics

Canberra (ACT) state nomination

Formal nomination approved

Lodged 14 April 2023, invited for ACT 190 on 18 April 2023, Graphic Designer

Lodged 14 April 2023, invited for ACT 491 on 18 April 2023, Mechanical Engineer

Lodged 15 April 2023, invited for ACT 190 on 18 April 2023, Accountant (General)

Lodged 13 April 2023, invited for ACT 190 on 18 April 2023, Retail Pharmacist

Lodged 8 March 2023, invited for ACT 190 on 20 April 2023, Developer Programmer

Victoria state nomination

For Victoria’s 18 April pre-invitations, see the summary above

The following are formal nominations approved

Lodged 190 Nomination application 18 April 2023, EOI invited 19 April 2023, 70+5 points (Registered Nurses nec – 254499)

Lodged 190 Nomination application 18 April 2023, EOI invited 19 April 2023, 80+5 points (Quantity Surveyor – 233213)

Pre-invitation received 21 March 2023, formal documents lodged 28 March 2023, approved 19 April 2023, 85+5 Civil Engineering

Tasmania state nomination

Lodged 190 ROI 19 April 2023, GREEN pass, invited to apply for Nomination 21 April 2023, 85+5 points (External Auditor – 221213)

Lodged 190 Nomination application 5 April 2023, EOI invited 18 April 2023, 70+5 points (External Auditor – 221213)

Lodged 190 Nomination application 5 April 2023, EOI invited 20 April 2023, 75+5 points (Accountant (General) – 221111)

Lodged 190 Nomination application 6 April 2023, EOI invited 20 April 2023, 75+5 points (Accountant (General) – 221111)

New South Wales state nomination

The following are 190/491 formal nominations approved

Pre-invitation received 5 April 2023, formal documents lodged 13 April 2023, approved 17 April 2023, Conference and Event Organiser, 65+5, offshore

Pre-invitation received 5 April 2023, formal documents lodged 14 April 2023, approved 18 April 2023, Architect 85+5, onshore

Pre-invitation received 5 April 2023, formal documents lodged 14 April 2023, approved 19 April 2023, Landscape Architect 85+5

Pre-invitation received 5 April 2023, formal documents lodged 14 April 2023, approved 19 April 2023, medical occupation 65+5

Pre-invitation received 5 April 2023, formal documents lodged 18 April 2023, approved 19 April 2023, External Auditor 90+5 points, offshore

190 lodged: 11/04/2023; invited: 17/04/2023, applicant offshore, Contract Administrator

491 lodged: 11/04/2023 approved: 18/04/2023, Program Administrator

South Australia state nomination

None this week

Queensland state nomination

Lodged 190 EOI 8 February 2023, invited to apply for Nomination 17 April 2023, 85+5 points (Chemical Engineer – 233111). Applied for priority in early April 2023, received 190 pre-invitation 21 April 2023, 85+5 points, Conference and Event Organiser

Applied for priority in early April 2023, received 491 pre-invitation 21 April 2023, 75+15 points, Multimedia Designer

Western Australia state nomination

Documents lodged 4 January 2023, nomination approved 21 April 2023, 75+5 Medical Laboratory Scientist (234611)

Northern Territory state nomination

(non-MINT) Invited 17 April 2023, offshore, occupation: Accountant (General)

MINT 190 invited occupation: Program Administrator lodged: 31/10/2022 invited: 16/04/2023 applicant offshore

MINT 190 invited occupation: Private Tutor, lodged: 01/12/2022 invited: 16/04/2023 applicant offshore

MINT 190 invited occupation: Marketing Specialist, lodged: 11/11/2022 invited: 16/04/2023 applicant offshore

MINT 190 invited occupation: Marketing Specialist, lodged: 25/11/2022 invited: 17/04/2023 applicant offshore

MINT 190 invited occupation: Advertising Copywriter, lodged: 22/12/2022 invited: 17/04/2023 applicant offshore

NT 190-MINT invited, occupation: Book Editor, lodged: 24/12/2022 invited: 17/04/2023 applicant offshore

NT 190-MINT invited, occupation: Marketing, lodged: 01/12/2022 invited: 17/04/2023 applicant offshore

Business and investor migration / GTI invitations

GTI lodged May 2022, invited 20 April 2023, infrastructure and tourism sector

GTI lodged 2022, invited 21 April 2023, Financial services and FinTech

Lodged: 15/05/2022; invited: 17/04/2023, Financial services and FinTech

This week’s grant progress and analysis

189 Skilled Independent migration

Lodged 23 December 2022, granted 19 April 2023, 90 points, External Auditor (with partner, lodged onshore, granted onshore)

Lodged 20 December 2022, granted 19 April 2023, onshore, with partner, EOI score 75, occupation: Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher

189 lodged onshore 13 Dec 2022, granted 21 Apr 2023 – Secondary School Teacher

Lodged July 2019, granted 20 April 2023, offshore

190 State-nominated skilled migration

Lodged 26 October 2022, granted 19 April 2023, 90+5 points, Quantity Surveyor – 233213 (lodged onshore, granted onshore)

Lodged 2 June 2022, granted 20 April 2023, 60+5 points, Production or Plant Engineer – 233513 (with partner, lodged onshore, granted onshore)

Lodged 17 May 2022, granted 20 April 2023, 60+5 points, Engineering Technologist – 233914 (with partner, lodged onshore, granted onshore)

Lodged 24 December 2022, granted 18 April 2023, occupation: ICT Support Engineer, onshore

Lodged 27 October 2022, granted 19 April 2023, onshore, occupation: Marketing Specialist

190 lodged onshore 02 Nov 2022, granted 19 Apr 2023 – Electronics Engineer

190 lodged onshore 26 Jul 2021, granted 20 Apr 2023 – Early Childhood
(Pre-primary School) Teacher

190 lodged onshore 18 Jun 2021, granted 20 Apr 2023 – Quantity Surveyor

190 lodged onshore 20 Oct 2022, granted 20 Apr 2023 – Accountant (General)

Lodged 14 October 2022, granted 17 April 2023

Lodged 29 July 2022, granted 19 April 2023

Lodged: 30/06/2022 granted: 17/04/2023, applicant offshore, Systems Administrator

491 new regional / 489 old regional sponsored visa

Lodged 8 September 2022, granted 20 April 2023 (with partner, lodged onshore, granted onshore)

491 lodged onshore 28 Jan 2022, granted 17 Apr 2023 – Solicitor

491 lodged onshore 02 Aug 2021, granted 18 Apr 2023 – Accountant (General)

Lodged 14 October 2021, granted 19 April 2023

887 Skilled Regional permanent visa

Lodged 5 January 2021, granted 20 April 2023

Employer-sponsored

186 TRT lodged February 2022, granted 18 April 2023

Nomination approved 12 April 2023, granted 18 April 2023, Cook

482 nomination and application lodged 1 March 2023, both approved on 21 April 2023, Hairdresser

Business and investor migration / GTI

None this week

600 Visitor visa

Lodged 20 March 2023, granted 18 April 2023, offshore

Lodged 14 April 2023, granted 18 April 2023, offshore

Lodged 24 March 2023, granted 20 April 2023, offshore

Lodged 19 April 2023, granted 20 April 2023, onshore

600 lodged offshore 23 Mar 2023, granted 19 Apr 2023

Lodged 23 March 2023, granted 21 April 2023

500 Student visa

Lodged 6 April 2023, granted 19 April 2023

485 Graduate Work visa

Lodged 13 April 2023, granted 17 April 2023

Partner migration

None this week

Parent migration / visa / child visa

870 lodged 14 March 2023, granted 17 April 2023 (lodged onshore)

870 lodged 29 November 2022, granted 19 April 2023 (lodged onshore)

870 lodged 24 January 2023, granted 21 April 2023 (lodged onshore)

143 lodged 15 April 2017, request for further documents and AOS email received 3 February 2023, contribution payment Invoice received 11 April 2023, granted 18 April 2023

408 visa

Lodged 4 April 2023, granted 20 April 2023

Lodged 28 March 2023, granted 21 April 2023

408 lodged onshore 14 Feb 2023, granted 20 Apr
2023

Lodged 12 April 2023, granted 17 April 2023

155 visa

Lodged 17 April 2023, granted 17 April 2023

Citizenship applications

None this week

This week’s skills assessment processing progress

ACS (IT-related)

Lodged 15 March 2023, result received 19 April 2023

Lodged 17 March 2023, result received 20 April 2023

Lodged 15 February 2023, result received 21 April 2023

Lodged 19 January 2023, passed 21 April, Developer Programmer

EA (Engineering)

Lodged 27 February 2023, result received 17 April 2023

VETASSESS

Lodged 14 April 2023, result received 20 April 2023 (expedited)

Lodged 12 April 2023, approved 21 April 2023, Marketing Specialist

Occupation: Contract Administrator, lodged: 13/04/2023 passed: 19/04/2023

Occupation: Private Tutor nec, lodged: 17/06/2022 passed: 20/04/2023

Occupation: Program Administrator, lodged: 01/04/2023 passed: 17/04/2023
Occupation: Marketing , lodged: 06/04/2023 passed: 21/04/2023

VET skills assessment occupation: Program Administrator lodged: 30/03/2023 passed: 15/04/2023

IML

Lodged: 27/02/2023 passed: 18/04/2023, Occupation: Human Resource Manager

Catch up on earlier articles

Canberra policy changes! 128 more occupations, major wins for offshore and 491!

NSW 190’s latest round invites at as low as 65 points! These occupations are so easy to get invited in

Victoria’s latest invitation round — IT applicants get 190 on a raw 75, accountants on 85!

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