Frequently asked questions about my permanent residence 186 visa application under the Employer Nomination Scheme

March 2013 This FAQ is divided up into six sections: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. General information about the requirements Your employers role in the process How Fragomen will prepare your visa application Including family members Exemptions to age and English language requirements Other questions

1. General information

What are the rules for getting a 186 visa? The rules for getting a 186 visa are that: Your employers nomination of the role has been approved by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) You qualify under the Temporary Residence Transition, Direct Entry or Agreements Stream Unless you fall within the limited exceptions, you are under 50 years of age You hold a passport from the UK, US, Canada, Ireland or New Zealand, or have demonstrated English skills, or are exempt from the requirement Pay the English language education charge of $8520 if you are exempt from the English requirement and do not have functional English. Any adult family members with less than functional English must pay $4250 and You and your immediate family members are of good health and good character.

There are some additional requirements for occupations that require licensing or registration. If you are in one of these occupations you will need to demonstrate that you have that licensing or registration or are eligible for it.
Employer Nomination Scheme FAQ March 2013 1

What is the Temporary Residence Transition Stream (TRT)? This stream is available to employees that have already worked for an Australian employer as the holder of a 457 visa. To be eligible you must: be nominated for permanent residence by your current 457 sponsor unless exempt, demonstrate that you have vocational English and hold a 457 visa and have worked full-time in Australia in the position for at least 2 of the last 3 years (excluding periods of unpaid leave) with your nominating employer.

What is the Direct Entry Stream (DE)? This stream is for those applicants that do not meet the requirements for the Transition Stream. To be eligible you must: be nominated for permanent residence by an Australian employer in an occupation on the consolidated skilled occupations list (CSOL) unless exempt, demonstrate that you have competent English and either o have your skills assessed by the relevant authority in Australia, and have been employed in the occupation for at least 3 years o be offered a role with guaranteed earnings of $180,001 or more o be nominated as a minister of religion, by a university as an academic, or by a government agency as a researcher, scientist or technical specialist or o hold a 444 special category visa for New Zealand citizens or 461 New Zealand family relationship visa and have been working with your nominating employer in Australia for at least 2 of the last 3 years (excluding periods of unpaid leave).

What is the Agreements Stream? This stream will only apply if the Minister of Immigration has entered into a Labour Agreement with your employer. Your Fragomen contact will discuss which of these three pathways is suitable to your circumstances. Will I need to have a health examination? You and your family members will need to undergo a chest x-ray (anyone aged 11 or over), HIV test (aged 15 and over) and have a medical examination (see below for more information on family members). Your Fragomen contact will provide details of how these examinations can be arranged. The questionnaire asks you some questions about your familys and your health. It is important that you tell us if you or anyone included in the application has a medical condition, so that we can advise you and your employer further. Will I need to get a police clearance? Yes, you must get a police clearance certificate from each country that you lived in for more than 12 months in the past 10 years. All family members that are 16 years or older will need to do the same. Your Fragomen contact will let you know how to obtain these clearances.

Employer Nomination Scheme FAQ March 2013

2. Your employers role

What is my employers role in the process? Your employer will need to nominate you for permanent residence by making an application to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for your role to be approved as suitable to be filled by someone from overseas. This nomination application, as it is called, is usually made at the same time as, or before your 186 employer nomination scheme visa application. Fragomen will work directly with your employer to obtain the information necessary to prepare the nomination application. What is Fragomens relationship with my employer? Your Fragomen contact will also be helping your employer prepare the nomination application that will be linked to your visa application. Our agreement with your employer is that we will prepare the 186 visa on your behalf and answer any questions that you have about this process. The work that we do for you is limited to this particular visa application and the information that you give to us may be shared with your employer. The Privacy Statement and Consent form that we ask you to sign at the end of the questionnaire explains this in further detail.

3. Preparing your visa application

How will Fragomen prepare my visa application? The attached email lists your Fragomen team. Please contact a team member with any questions that you have. You may also be contacted by one of our paralegals with requests for documents and progress updates. We will respond to your emails and phone calls within two business days. We want to ensure that the process is as simple and as streamlined for you as possible. We will need some of your documents and information at the beginning of the process so that we can confirm that you will meet the visa requirements. There are other documents and information that we will need before the application is lodged. How can I give documents to Fragomen? Your visa application will be lodged using DIACs electronic e-lodgment facility and documents that you give us will be uploaded to this system. Please scan all documents that we request and email them to us. Photographs of documents are generally not of sufficient quality. How long will DIAC take to process my application? Departmental processing times can vary quite considerably. The time frame below is only approximate. In some circumstances it may be possible to have the applications fast tracked using DIACs decision ready checklist. Your Fragomen contact will discuss with you whether this is possible in your case.

Employer Nomination Scheme FAQ March 2013

There are a series of steps in the visa application process:

Step 1. Gathering the information and documents necessary to assess your eligibility and prepare the application 2. Assessing the information and documents that have been provided Details You will need to complete the questionnaire and obtain the necessary documents and send these to your Fragomen contact. At the same time Fragomen will work with your employer to obtain the necessary information to prepare the nomination application. Time Frame You should complete this step as soon as possible.

Fragomen will review the material that both you and your employer have provided. Depending on your responses, we may ask for more information. We will let you know if we think there are any issues with the application. At this stage we will determine what health checks and police clearances are required and provide you with details of how you can arrange these. The results of health checks need to be cleared by the Australian authorities. Once this happens you will be sent the sealed results. Do not open these results and send them on to your Fragomen contact. Depending on the country, police clearance certificates can take time.

Within 5 working days of receiving your information.

3. Arranging and undergoing health checks

You should arrange the health checks as soon as possible.

4. Arranging and undergoing police clearances 5. Preparing the visa application

You should arrange the police checks as soon as possible. Within 2 weeks of receiving all information and documents necessary to complete the forms. Within 3 days of receiving approval, and all other necessary documents and information.

Fragomen will send you the draft visa application for checking and approval. One of Fragomens registered migration agents will be identified in this application to assist you with the application.

6. Lodging the visa application with DIAC

Once we have received the approval from you and your employer and all of the necessary documents and information, we will lodge the nomination and visa applications. These applications will be lodged using DIACs online lodgment facility.

7. The application is allocated to a DIAC officer for assessment

If the case officer has any questions about your application, they will contact the Fragomen migration agent responsible for the application. The signed 956 form that you have completed authorises your Fragomen contact to speak to the case officer on your behalf. Mostly, the first contact that we have from DIAC is when we are notified of the decision. Your Fragomen contact will be advised by email of DIACs decision. We will forward this to you. Typically within 6 months of lodgment.

8. The application is decided by the case officer

Employer Nomination Scheme FAQ March 2013

4. Family members

Can my immediate family get permanent residence too? If your employer agrees, it is possible for your immediate family members to get the same permanent visa. Typically these family members would be your partner and/or a dependent child or children. A child is dependent if he or she is under 18, or over 18 and financially reliant on you. If your child was included in your 457 visa application and has since turned 18, they can still be included in your subclass 186 application without having to show financial reliance. If you have dependent family members that are not included in your visa application, they may still need to have a health examination and obtain police clearances. What sort of visas will my family members get? Your family members will be granted 186 visas and will have the right to work and study. What if I am living with, but not married to, my partner? Australian immigration law recognises de facto or common law partners that is couples, including same sex couples, who are living together in a marriage-like relationship but who are not legally married. In order for your de facto partner to obtain a visa on the basis of your relationship you will need to provide evidence that you are living together and that you are regarded as a couple. Generally, you will need to show that you have lived together for the last twelve months. The types of evidence can include: rent receipts, lease or property ownership documents in joint names and utility bills such as for electricity or gas in both names or for each of you at the same address; bank statements in both names showing that the account is used regularly; receipts for major purchases in both names; records of joint assets or liabilities; mutual wills or insurance policies; joint memberships of organizations; photographs taken at family or social situations or on holiday and evidence of joint travel detailed statements or statutory declarations about the relationship by you and your partner; and/or any other documentary evidence that demonstrates that you are a couple.

What are the English language requirements for my family members? Unless your adult family members hold UK, US, Canadian, Irish or New Zealand passports, they must demonstrate that they have functional English language skills, or pay the English language education charge. Functional English can be demonstrated either by obtaining an average score of 4.5 in an IELTS test or producing other evidence of English language ability such as being taught in English. If an adult family member does not have functional English then a payment must be made to DIAC to cover the cost of future English language tuition. As of 1 July 2012 this fee is $4250.

Employer Nomination Scheme FAQ March 2013

5. Exemptions for age and English language skills

What if I am 50 years of age or over? If you are over 50 you will only be eligible for a subclass 186 visa if you: are nominated as a minister of religion, by a university as a senior academic, or by a government agency as a researcher, scientist or technical specialist or are applying under the Transition Stream and you have been working for your nominating employer for at least 4 years and have been earning at least the high income threshold for each of those years. This threshold is set under the Fair Work Act, and is indexed on 1 July each year. The thresholds are: 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 $108,300 $108,300 $113,800 $118,100 $123,330

Your Fragomen contact will discuss this with you if necessary. What are the English language exemptions? There are limited exemptions to the requirement to demonstrate an appropriate level of English. These are: you hold a passport from United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States or the Republic of Ireland you are offered a role with earnings of at least $180,001 or you are applying on the basis of the Temporary Residence Transition Stream and you have completed at least 5 years of secondary/tertiary education in English or you are nominated as a minister of religion. If you are exempt from the English language requirement you are still required to pay the English language education charge fee of $8520 if you have less than functional English. If you do not fall within these limited exemptions you will need to demonstrate that you have vocational English if applying under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream, or competent English if applying as a Direct Entrant. How do I establish that I have vocational or competent English language skills? If you do not fall within one of the exemptions then you must provide evidence of your English language ability. This must be done by providing results of a recent International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test or Occupational English Test (OET) for medical and health related occupations. The test must have been taken in the three years before the application is lodged. The required scores are: Temporary Residence Transition A score of: IELTS 5 on each of components or OET B on each of the 4 A score of: IELTS 6 on each of components or OET B on each of the 4 the 4 test components the 4 test components

Direct Entry

See www.ielts.org for more details. Your Fragomen contact will discuss this with you if necessary.
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6. Other Questions

Below are some common questions asked of Fragomen. The information we have provided should not be relied upon and in all cases, you should consult with the relevant authority or agency for current and complete information particular to you. Will applying for permanent residence have a financial impact on me? Proceeding with an application for permanent residence can have important financial implications for you and your family members, such as liability for the Medicare levy, taxation and other financial implications. These implications can arise from the date an application is lodged. We strongly recommend that you seek financial advice about any implications for you and your family as soon as possible, and well before lodgment of your permanent residence application. Further information about the Medicare levy can be found at www.ato.gov.au. Many permanent residence applicants who are in Australia are also eligible for Medicare benefits as soon as their permanent residence application is lodged. Medicare is Australias publicly funded universal health care system operated by the Australian government. You should contact Medicare if you wish to confirm your eligibility and seek advice on how to access those benefits. Further information is available on www.medicareaustralia.gov.au. Will I need to get my passport stamped with the visa? The 186 visa will be issued electronically which means that you do not need to have a visa label placed in your passport. You can have a label placed in your passport for if you choose. DIAC currently charge $70 for this service. Your Fragomen contact can let you know how to make the arrangements. What happens if I get a new passport after a visa is issued? Whether your visa is issued electronically or as a label stuck in your passport, the visa is linked to the passport number used in your application. So if you get a new passport any time after the visa is granted, you must tell DIAC. Once I get a 186 visa what will it allow me to do in Australia? A 186 visa is a permanent residence visa. This means that you can live and work in Australia indefinitely (see below). You can access Medicare and other entitlements available to Australian permanent residents and citizens. What is the Resident Return visa? A 186 visa allows you to live in Australia indefinitely. However it is only valid for travel for 5 years. This means that if you plan to travel outside of Australia after 5 years, you will need to apply for a resident return visa that will allow you to re-enter Australia. In order to obtain a resident return visa you will have lived in Australia for at least 2 years in the previous 5. If your period of residence in Australia is less than this, then you may be able to obtain a 12 month return visa if you can establish substantial continuing ties to Australia. Will I be able to become an Australian citizen? An Australian permanent resident is able to seek Australian citizenship after they have lived in Australia for four years. Time spent in Australia as a temporary resident can be counted, with at least one year as a permanent resident. Eligibility can be affected by time spent outside Australia during this period, and other factors. Your Fragomen contact can provide you with more details about either resident return visas or Australian citizenship.

Employer Nomination Scheme FAQ March 2013

Can I buy real estate while I am in Australia? As a permanent resident there is no restriction on you purchasing property in Australia. Do I need to pay the Medicare levy? The Australian Tax Office collects a Medicare levy with income tax. As a permanent resident, you will be eligible for Medicare, and will need to pay the levy. See www.ato.gov.au. What tax do I need to pay in Australia and at home? You should consult with the Australian Tax Office at www.ato.gov.au or an accounting firm that specialises in this area. Your employer may also offer you help. If you need further assistance, your Fragomen contact will be able to refer you to one of these firms. Will living in Australia affect my permanent residence status in other countries? If you hold permanent residence in another country then a period away from that country may affect this status. Fragomen is a global immigration firm and is able to advise you about this if you email fcpaustralia@fragomen.com . Generally citizenship of another country will not be affected by absence from that country. Feedback on our services We appreciate receiving your feedback on our services at any time throughout the visa application process. If you have a concern about our service, you should first make contact with the Fragomen Senior Associate listed in our initial email to you. If you feel your concerns have not been addressed, we have a formal escalation and complaints policy, which can be provided to you upon request. MARN 9368525

Employer Nomination Scheme FAQ March 2013