Available options to stay in Australia

Email to the client:

To

Jill Naidoo,

South East Queensland,

Australia.

Subject: Discussion on visa extension.

Dear Jill,

In this email, I write in response to the advice sought by you for the renewal of your visa. I would like to provide you advice about the strategy that I would be using in this purpose. However, this would be subject to legislative and code of conduct provisions.

After the completion of your masters program, you can continue staying in Australia via permanent residency visa under General Skilled Migration program. But the main problem every student faces is the dearth of time between their course completion date and date of visa expiry. Many times it requires more than three months for the processing of necessary documents by the relevant authorities and return to the applicant. Many of the student visas are expiring on March; they have limited time to get required documents to lodge the permanent residency application. But you are lucky in this regard, your course ends on December and your visa expires on March. Hence, you have sufficient time to make application for visa. You can apply for a 485 Temporary Graduate Visa so that you can work in Australia on temporary basis after your course completes. You are eligible to apply for Post-Study Work stream of 485 visas as you are graduated with masters from Australian University. However, there are certain requirements for this category of visa. This stream is available to student, who being a graduate has got a minimum of 6 in each band of IELTS test, or who being a graduate has studied at under graduate level or higher from an Australian education provider for two years or who as a graduate has applied for first student visa after November 5, 2011 or the graduate student has applied for 485 visa within 6 months of the completion of course date. 

While proceeding with your task, I will be following the Migration Act 1958, the Migration Regulations 1994 and portfolio policies and procedures. Other legislations in relation to migration procedure are to be followed too. The Migration Act  was enacted to regulate the incoming and presence of non-Australian citizens in Australia. Moreover, Code of Conduct found in Schedule 2 of the Migration Consultants Regulations  will be applied too.

In this regard, I am obliged to preserve your confidentiality unless law requires it, so be assured about it. After we agreed to work together, I will provide you with a copy of the consumer guide. A consumer guide is a document produced by an appropriate Authority with information regarding migration advice profession, functions of the authority, the legislation that controls the profession, what can be expected from an agent, and complaint procedures. You will also be entitled to get a copy of the application under the Migration Act or Migration regulations. Moreover I will arrange an interpreter for you too for proper communication. However, you will be required to pay additional payment for this as fees to the interpreter. You will be provided with my address and contact number so that you can contact with me during normal business hours. If any change in address or contact number occurs, you will be informed in advance or within 14 days.

Requirements for Post-Study Work Stream of 485 Visa

Since there is no statutory range of fees, before I proceed with your work, I will give you an approximate estimation of charges in the form of fees per hour for the service provided. If any additional charge is incurred, I will inform you beforehand. Once you agree with it, you will be required to give a written acceptance. After its receipt, I will provide you a written confirmation comprising of an agreement for services and fees. The agreement will indicate the services to be provided, the fees for the services and other disbursements. However, if the case requires any additional expertise like advice from solicitor or barrister, you will be informed in advance. Additional costs may also be incurred if there is any need to engage and pay any witnesses, need to meet costs if the case is lost in the court or there is a need to pay Departmental fees and charges. 

Hence, I can assure you that your work will be done with honesty, fairness and truthfulness and I will give best possible efforts to ensure your problem is solved. However, the last decision will be taken by the Australian Immigration Authority whose decision will be final and we are bound to follow it.

Regards.

In the given situation, the client Jill Naido desires to stay in Australia after completing his Masters in Marketing at Griffith University. His course will be completed at the end of 2019 and his visa will expire on March, 2020. Since, he came to Australia in January, 2012, it is well established that he has got his visa from that time only. Hence, he is eligible to Post- Study Work Stream of 485 Visa.

In order to get Post- Study Work Stream of 485 Visa, Jill has to satisfy the following requirements; he must be a graduate who has received a minimum of 6in each band of the IELTS test, he must had studied for two years at a Bachelor level or higher from an Australian College or University. He must have applied for the first student visa after November, 2011 and he must lodge the application for this visa within 6 months of course completion date. The time Jill is getting between December, 2019 and March, 2020 can be efficiently used for the application procedure. 

Australian Permanent Residents:

The residents of Australia who hold a permanent residency visa but are not citizens of Australia are called Australian permanent residents. Here Jill if desires can become permanent resident in the country by the General Skilled Migration Program. Australian nationality law mainly deals with who are Australian citizen and who are not. It is controlled by Australian Citizenship Act. By this visa, he can live in Australia indefinitely. Jill will be eligible to become citizens after a waiting period after he becomes permanent residents. For this, after the completion of the waiting period, he will be required to sit for the citizenship test. With Masters degree, good score in English and some work experience in Australia’s skills list, one can get residency of Australia within one year. Hence Jill has to work for at least two years on work permit before applying to permanent residence status.

Migration regulations and procedures

Being an agent I would suggest Jill to apply for Post- Study Work Stream of 485 Visa because it will be easier for a student like him to get this visa. It will not be possible for him to apply for permanent residency visa as he has no work experience.

Jill does not want his family members to know about his plan to settle in Australia. Being the migration agent, I would assure him that his identity and information will not be disclosed to anyone as it is against the standard of professional conduct. I would be guiding him to take necessary steps by being thoroughly versed in the Migration Act 1958, the Migration Regulations 1994, legislation related to migration procedure and portfolio policies and procedures. Moreover, he will be dealt competently, diligently and fairly by me. 

I can promise you that I will not engage in undue pressure, physical threats, manipulation of cultural or ethnic anxieties. Being an agent, one must follow the Code of Conduct for registered migration agent. This code is administered by the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Every migrating agent must register with such authority. If the code is not followed properly, the authority may impose administrative sanction and not criminal sanction. Administrative sanction includes suspension or cancellation of registration of the agent. The agent must be listed in the Registrar of Migration Agents maintained by the Authority under section 287 of the Migration Act of 1958.

After finishing his masters, Jill can even apply for working visa or a temporary visa whose procedures are comparatively easy. He can apply for work holiday visa which will allow him to travel and work up to 12 months. The Skilled Graduate ( temporary) Visa allows international students to stay in Australia for 18 months after they finish their studies. This is also a good option for Jill. But the best option is to apply for Post- Study Work Stream of 485 Visa and I will follow the procedure suitable for this purpose. After all, client’s satisfaction is the aim of every agent.

Thus Jill has many options from which he can choose so that he can continue to stay in Australia. Being a migrating agent, I will provide best support to Jill for this purpose. I will take adequate remuneration from Jill so that he can afford to pay as a student. 

References:

Australian Citizenship Act 2007

Robertson, Shanthi. “Intertwined mobilities of education, tourism and labour: The consequences of 417 and 485 visas in Australia.” THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION LAW AND POLICY (2016): 53.

The Migration Act 1958

The Migration Consultants Regulations 1998