Impact Of Changes On Australia Canada Immigration Rules

30 Jun 2010

Australia was not accepting new applications for the past four months. Now, it has opened its doors again. However, there are a number of important changes in migration rules from 1 July 2010. The following are the categories in which the changes are implemented:

• Skills assessment for accountants
• Australian Citizenship
• General skilled migration
• Visa Application fees

The skills assessment for accountants will be changed for applications initiated after 1 July 2010. Those who became permanent residents prior to 1 July 2007 can apply under the old residence requirement for citizenship. People need to show at least 4 years of residence in Australia to be eligible for new citizenship requirements. Also, there has been a change with regards to visa application fees. The new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is designed to deliver high skilled migrants and crack down on people seeking permanent residency through low-value education courses.

It is anticipated by Indian experts that once the backlogs of Canada are cleared, Canadian immigration intake would increase again. Now with new changes coming up, Australia immigration intake is also expected to increase. All major skilled professionals and people engaged in trade are included in the new SOL list applicable for federal and state sponsored programs. However, investor applications will not be entertained by the Canadian government as the federal investor immigration has been suspended awaiting new changes in the eligibility criteria.