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Kirk Migration Column February 25, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Australian Visas Tightening Across the Board — Are International Students Being Forced into Unlawful Stay? A Must-Read Warning

Historical Official Data Trends on Unlawful Stay in Australia I recently came across data pulled from the Department of Home Affairs showing that as of 30 June 2011, the number of unlawful non-citizens inside Australia reached 58,400 — nearly 60,000 people. That prompted me to dig into the data from the past few years to see where Australia’s unlawful-stay numbers

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News February 23, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Official preview: NSW to release invitations in the first week of March! 190 and 491 grants continue to climb, with room for faster processing!

The 189, 491 and 190 data are back — we have obtained figures up to the end of January 2026 via FOI. As usual, we will start with the summarised figures: – 190 and 491 grants are climbing steadily – Final acceptance rate for the November 2025 Subclass 189 round was 56% – All three visa streams still have room

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Migration Weekly February 22, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Australia Migration Weekly No. 414 | Subclass 143 wait stretches to 15 years! Victoria issues invitations? State-nomination places still ample!

Key migration news of the week 1. Parent visa places still available this financial year — Subclass 143 now a 15-year wait 2. State allocations still lagging behind schedule — some states have more than 80% remaining 3. Partner visa backlog severe; child visa waiting periods extended 4. Victoria issues a round? Tasmania invites every week 5. Summary of this

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Kirk Migration Column February 21, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

State nomination quotas still have plenty left — please release more, fast 🙏

The Department has updated 190 and 491 state-nomination quota usage as at end of January (header image) This year’s quotas were announced late, and with the Christmas and New Year holidays on top of that, every state feels slow to restart — a lot of places are still sitting on plenty of quota A state-by-state look: Canberra (ACT) Both 190

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Kirk Migration Column February 20, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Done — Early Childhood Teacher Subclass 190 granted in two weeks

Sharing a recent lightning-fast Subclass 190 grant, with some takeaways for fellow Early Childhood Teachers I shared an update when the client received their invitation — see the earlier note for background (Image 2). In short: Early Childhood Teacher, 80 points before state nomination. Midway through last year, watching 189 cut-offs keep climbing, he decided to move to Western Australia

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News February 17, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Every essential step to know and prepare after your PR green card is granted — every day you delay could cost you!

Happy New Year to everyone Lunar New Year’s Day The Newstarsec Group sends you our warm New Year greetings! Yesterday we mentioned that the processing wait time for contributory Parent visas has been extended from 14 years to 15 years!Read the details here:Parent Visa Mid-Financial-Year Grant Data Released|How many places are left? Contributory wait time extended to 15 years! As

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Migration Weekly February 15, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Issue 413 Australia Migration Weekly | Which points items are unanimously agreed for reform? Data estimates 3-5k more 189 invitations this year? 189/190/Partner PR speed up

Key Migration News of the Week 1. Can we still expect 189 invitations this year? Data estimates another 3-5k possible? 2. Points-test reform consultation papers released: which scoring items are unanimously agreed to be changed 3. 190 and 491 visa backlogs further reduced 4. DoHA official update: 189/190/Partner PR processing speeds up 5. Weekly roundup of grants, invitations and skills

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Kirk Migration Column February 12, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Parent migration half-year grants and backlog data are out — please check 🤝

Recently we obtained exclusive access to some case-file data from the Department of Home Affairs on Parent migration. Let’s first take a look at the half-year grant figures and the current full backlog — many applicants whose cases are already being processed (or are about to be) are still very keen to know how many places are left for this

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Kirk Migration Column February 11, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Subclass 189 Q3 — could there be reason for cautious optimism?

We now have the data up to the end of 12189 190 491, the half-year report card across the three main skilled-visa categories. Combined with the news of the past few days, here is my read on the next round of Subclass 189 invitations. Summary first – Subclass 189 may still issue another 3,000–5,000 invitations – Top 10 occupations invited

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News February 11, 2026 Qiqi CHEN

Reform bill passed — reviews accelerate immediately! ART Student visa appeals lodged in H2 2025 are already receiving requests for further information!

Today we are back with another update on the ART appeals reform. The new bill was formally passed last week, and Student visa refusal appeals — everything changes! The ART reform bill has passed and appeal review times are shrinking!ART Student visa reviews and requests for further information have clearly sped up. On our side, we have already seen a

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