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In this Edition:
Rose of Tralee on 22 May
The Brisbane Irish Club is holding the Rose of Tralee 2010 Selection Ball - Saturday, 22nd May 2010. For bookings please visit: http://www.queenslandirish.com/general/whats-on.
The "Rose of Tralee International Festival" has been held each August since 1959 at Tralee, Co Kerry, Ireland. Back in 1959 there were five entrants and the budget was $1500. Today there are thirty-two entrants and the budget is well over $1M. It is now one of Europe's foremost festivals attracting over 300,000 visitors from all over the world and returns over about $28M to Tralee and the surrounding districts during the six day Festival.
The International Rose of Tralee Quest is now a world-renowned contest for girls of Irish ancestry from the USA, Canada, Europe, The Middle East, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Japan and Australia, who travel to Tralee each year to compete for the coveted title of INTERNATIONAL ROSE OF TRALEE.
Girls who take part in the quest must be aged between 18-28, single and of Irish birth or ancestry. They are judged not on looks alone, but more on personality, poise, charm, sincerity and ability to represent their home country in Ireland and Ireland in their home country.
The Brisbane 2010 Rose of Tralee Quest is proudly sponsored by Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers.
If you are interested in further information, please contact Noela McCormick on (07) 3397 1764 or visit http://www.queenslandirish.com/events/the-rose-of-tralee
Irish BBQ – 15th of May
Are you young, Irish and living in Brisbane?
New to Brisbane or been here a while? Want to make new friends? Or just need some support or advice?
If the answer, to any of these questions is YES!! Then the Irish Australian Support Association Queensland (IASAQ) can help you!
The IASAQ are holding a BBQ in Southbank on Saturday May 15th for people just like you! It will be a great way of mixing with people in the same situation and an awesome way to meet new friends and get to know your association. Contact Rita on 0432 087 328 or email: info@iasaq.com.au web: www.iasaq.com.au for further details.
There are some big changes coming into effect on 1 July 2010.
Skilled Occupation List
We have previously advised you that DIAC will be releasing a new SOL, which was to be announced on the 30th of April 2010. We were notified by DIAC that the publication of the new SOL will now occur in May 2010. DIAC has explained that at this time they are still considering the report from Skills Australia in regard to the new SOL. It is understood that the new SOL will take effect 1 July 2010; however as soon as we have a more definitive date for the release of the SOL, we will notify you.
Temporary Suspension of General Skilled Migration Visas
n an unanticipated move on Friday, 7 May, the Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC) announced that General Skilled Migration applications for:
- Subclass 175 (skilled independent);
- Subclass 176 (skilled sponsored); and
- Subclass 475 (skilled regional sponsored);
visas will not be accepted by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) after 8 May, 2010 until further notice.
Applicants who have already submitted a valid application for one of the affected subclasses will not be impacted by this announcement.
It is expected that the General Skilled Migration system will resume when the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is in effect from 1 July 2010. DIAC’s website states that the measure “is expected to remain in effect until the end of 30 June 2010”.
The suspension means hard copy applications mailed, but not physically received by DIAC prior to 8 May, and online applications lodged through the Department’s website after midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on 7 May 2010, will not be accepted and will be considered invalid, and returned to the applicant, along with the Visa Application Charge. However, other fees associated with visa applications such as medical examinations, English language tests and skills assessments will unfortunately not be refunded by the Government.
It is stated that the suspension is ‘to be intended to ensure that all offshore general skilled applications from this point onwards are in line with occupations included in the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL)’, which is supposed to be released later in May and implemented from 1 July 2010.
The suspension does not apply to onshore general skilled migration visas such as subclass 885, 885, 485 and the onshore Skilled Regional Sponsored visa subclass 487.
If you have concerns about the status of you application, or need further clarification of the scope of the suspension and whether it will affect you, please contact us at migrate@australianmigrations.com.
Stay tuned for updates on the progress of the new SOL and details as to when the Department’s suspension will be lifted.
DIAC’s website can be accessed here.
Citizenship
Citizenship changes will also come into effect on 1 July 2010.
The general residence requirement is one of the eligibility criteria you must meet to apply for Australian citizenship. The residence requirement is specified in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007.
It is based on the length of time:
- you have lawfully lived in Australia
- you have spent outside Australia
- you have been a permanent resident
From 1 July 2010 all applicants for Citizenship must meet current rules of 4 out of 5 years lawful residence with 1 year as PR. This means:
- You must have been living in Australia on a valid Australian visa for 4 years immediately before applying, including 1 year as a permanent resident, and
- You must not have been absent from Australia for more than 1 year during the 4 year period, including no more than 90 days in the year immediately before applying.
On 1 July 2010 the current transitional arrangements will cease. On and after 1 July 2010 there will only be one general residence requirement which everyone aged 16 and over will be required to meet. This residence requirement will apply to all applicants regardless of when they first arrived in Australia.
http://www.citizenship.gov.au
Skill Assessment Changes from CPA and ICAA
There will be some changes in regards to obtaining skill assessments from CPA and ICAA from the 1st of July. These are:
- Accountants, Corporate Treasurers, External Auditors and Finance Managers will need to sit an IELTS test and obtain an IELTS band score of 7 in each band from an Academic test.
- The ICAA + CPA’s assessments have been previously valid indefinitely however from the 1st of July they will only be valid for a period of 2 years.
- CPA will also require applicants to hold a qualification equal to that of an Australian bachelor degree (if applying on the basis of a Masters, etc).
- You may also be aware that to satisfy the requirements you need to have 9 out of the 12 core units completed. This requirement is slightly changing with the introduction of completing 4 mandatory core units. I have attached an outline of this and it has also been saved into the skill assessment folder.
http://www.charteredaccountants.com.au/A124004341
http://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/cpa-site/hs.xsl/become-how-migration.html
Migration Rules & Legislation - Dept of Immigration
Australian Properties - Property Value
Australian News - News
Australian Citizenship - Citizenship
Living in Australia - Information Site
 We are proud to support a number of charities around the globe.
The Irish Office supports the Jack and Jill Foundation, a charity based in Co Kildare, Ireland. The foundation provides care and support for children with severe neurological development issues, as well as offering some respite to the parents and families. You can make a donation here or drop in your unwanted mobile phones, ink cartridges or digital cameras to our office in Clane for recycling.
We also support World Vision and FWS - with our Brisbane office sponsoring a child from each charity.
The AMVL Group is committed to providing prompt and professional service to people throughout the world who wish to migrate to Australia. Our agents have been doing this for over 10 years and have helped 1000's of clients find the right visa and start a new life in Australia.
Our head office is in Brisbane, Queensland and we have permanent offices in Ireland, UK, Singapore and Malaysia.
We have an experienced team of Australian Registered Migration Agents who will personally manage your file. They are all bound by the requirements of the Migration Agents Code of Conduct. Our policy is to only sign clients where we believe there is a strong chance of a favourable outcome and has an excellent track record on first time application grants. We pride ourselves on providing a personal, professional service.
Want some more information?
If you are in Ireland or the UK – click here or visit our web site
If you are in anywhere else - click here or visit our web site
Australia - Level 7, 199 George Street, Brisbane - Ph: 07 3212 2200
Ireland - Main Street, Clane, Co Kildare - Ph: 045 868 322
UK - Suite 560, 24-28 St Leonards Rd, Windsor SL4 3BB - Ph: 0800 0383853
Malaysia - Level 36, Menara Maxis, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50450 KL - Ph: 60 327117133
Singapore - Level 37, Singapore Land Tower, 50 Raffles Pl, 048623, Singapore - Ph: 65 68297184
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