Immigration Services for Individuals
For individuals, we can provide a full range of immigration services such as:
- Extending your stay with your current employer on a temporary visa
- Assistance with changing employers / sponsors on a temporary visa
- Skilled Independent Permanent Migration
- Employer Sponsored Permanent Migration
- Regional Migration Categories
- Australian Citizenship
- Family migration streams
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NEW - MODL Submissions - 8th October 2009
We firmly believe that doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals provide exceptional benefit to the Australian community. We advocate strongly for positive immigration law changes benefiting healthcare professionals whenever possible. We recently participated in the call for submissions regarding the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL). We suggested a number of changes to assist healthcare professionals to better access the General Migration Scheme. A copy of our detailed submissions to the Department of Immigration can be found below. If you have any queries please email: migration@wave.com.au
MODL Submission 2nd.pdf
MODL Submission 1st.pdf
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wavelength Migration Services News Bulletin – November 2009 Edition
News Items
457 Visa applicants now required to provide evidence of health insurance
Doctors to benefit from New General Skilled Migration Priority Processing
Do you meet the “genuine visitor” requirement for eVisitor visas?
Feature Articles
Ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure
Becoming a Specialist – The Australian specialist registration process
MODL Submissions
Find our regular Australian immigration updates on Facebook and Twitter!
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Jenny Wave
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Immigration News
457 Visa applicants now required to provide evidence of health insurance
From 14 September 2009 all Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457) visa applicants are required to provide evidence of private health insurance for their stay in Australia. We briefly discuss some of your best options to ensure you don’t fall short of this new requirement.
As there are many insurance providers out there and coverage varies it can be very confusing to choose the right insurer that matches your needs. With this in mind the Australian government website has provided comprehensive information to assist you in making the right informed decision. http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/.
However, if time is of the essence and you are urgently required to give evidence of health insurance, the quickest way in our experience so far, is to sign up to Medibank: (We are not affiliated with Medibank or receive any commissions) http://www.medibank.com.au/Visitors-Cover/About-Visitors-Cover/About-Working-Visa-Health-Insurance.aspx .
Most of our applicants have been able to sign up to this cover and provide the required evidence for their 457 applications in one or two days.
If you would like more information please feel free to contact Wavelength Migration Services on 02 8353 9000 or e-mail migration@wave.com.au
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Doctors to benefit from New General Skilled Migration Priority Processing
Recent changes to the priority processing list could significantly reduce the time it takes healthcare professionals to obtain their permanent residency status. When choosing a permanent residency application it is important that you consider all your options.
Permanent residence applications for skilled workers are now processed in this order of priority:
1. Employer sponsored ENS (Employer Nomination Scheme) and RSMS (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) applications
2. State/Territory sponsored and nominating a Critical Skills List (CSL) occupation
3. Sponsored by family and nominating a CSL occupation
4. Nominating a CSL occupation only
5. Nominated by a State/Territory only
6. All other applications
Depending on your circumstances there are different pro’s and con’s as to which of the above applications you choose. At Wavelength International we can assist you to strategise as to which application is best for you.
We offer tailored and specialised services to assist and advise healthcare professionals in applying for Australian immigration visas.
To find out if you are eligible for Australian permanent residence and if so which option best suites your needs contact Wavelength Migration Services and speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents today!
Contact Wavelength Migration Services on 02 8353 9000 or e-mail
migration@wave.com.au
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Do you meet the “genuine visitor” requirement for eVisitor visas?
Do you need to enter Australia ahead of your pending visa application being approved? Will you need to enter Australia to arrange your medical registration? Depending on your circumstances often the simplest and fastest visa option is to apply for the eVisitor visa.
Passport holders from the UK as well as a number of other EU countries may be eligible to apply for the eVisitor visa for tourist or business visits to Australia. However, do not count on getting an eVisitor visa if you have already applied for another Australian visa such as the Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457) or permanent residence visas.
The Department of Immigration expects the eVisitor applicant to be a “genuine visitor” and a lodged visa application already on the Australian immigration system will likely lead the case officer to question the visitor’s intentions. Applications will be decided on a case by case basis.
Representation from an experienced migration agent may be helpful to explain your urgent situation to the case officer and demonstrate your genuine intentions to be a visitor.
To find out more about the Australian Migration Regulations contact Wavelength Migration Services and speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents today!
We offer tailored and specialised services to assist and advise healthcare professionals in applying for Australian immigration visas.
Contact Wavelength Migration Services on 02 8353 9000 or e-mail
migration@wave.com.au
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Ounce of Prevention Worth a Pound of Cure – Avoid Becoming Accidentally Unlawful Applying for your Australian work visa can be a frustrating and time consuming process. By inadvertently not observing the numerous pit falls and complications many healthcare professionals land up in the frustrating and time consuming position of having their work visa’s refused or even accidentally becoming illegal immigrants.
Being extremely busy professionals and working long shifts most doctors and nurses are time-poor and do not have the sufficient time needed to explore all the technical details of visa applications or read all the necessary literature. Therefore, they are prone to submitting incomplete applications that can result in them wasting time and money as well as becoming accidentally unlawful.
This is compounded as the visa process is extremely complicated with every visa subclass having certain criteria that must be met to be considered a “valid application”. Further, applications have to meet a range of “at time of application criteria” when the application is lodged and if this is not enough they must also meet a range of “at time of decision criteria” when the application is actually decided.
If a validity requirement is not met, it is as if the application was never lodged. This is disastrous for many applicants as they are relying on the new application to keep them lawfully in Australia or to maintain their work rights. If an ‘at time of application criteria’ is not met, the application can be refused, even if that piece of missing evidence is later available at the time of decision.
The most frustrating aspect for applicants is that they actually do meet or have the evidence required to meet the regulations but through lack of knowledge fail to provide the all correct information at the time they lodge the application.
The result of these often avoidable mistakes can be catastrophic for the applicant. Minimal damage would be loss of the visa application fees and loss of valuable time, possible delay in commencing employment and having to re-apply. Sometimes the applicant is unable to lodge another visa application whilst they are physically in Australia. In a worst case scenario, the applicant has inadvertently become an unlawful non-citizen, subject to detention with no work rights.
So surely this won’t happen to you? Unfortunately in our experience, it happens all too often and usually to applicants who would never in a million years intentionally become an unlawful non-citizen. It is often a nasty shock for the applicant who had no idea that their migration status had changed.
To illustrate the point, based on past experience, here are some real life scenarios that you could find yourself in.
Scenario 1
You are in Australia on a Business (Subclass 457) visa to work. Towards the end of your 457 visa you apply for a permanent residence Skilled Independent (Subclass 175) Visa, the application takes a long time to process. Your 457 Visa expires, but you think that you are on a bridging visa. You may not realize that your 175 Visa application is an offshore application for which no bridging visa was issued. You therefore become accidentally unlawful in Australia.
Scenario 2
You come to Australia to study. After your studies you decide to apply for permanent residency, but you do not have enough working experience. So you apply for a Skilled Graduate (Subclass 485) Visa so you can work in Australia for a year. Because you had a student visa when you applied for the 485 Visa in Australia you get a bridging visa. This application takes a long time to process and your bridging visa comes into affect once your student visa expires. When you applied for the 485 Visa you did not realize the application would be refused if you did not include IELTS test results. By the time a case officer realizes this fatal flaw in your application and refuses the application, you can no longer lodge another application whilst in Australia.
Scenario 3
You are a UK Doctor who is offered a job in Australia and therefore apply for a Business (Subclass 457) Visa. You enter Australia for medical registration processes on an eVisitor visa. The medical registration process takes a while and you carry on your tourist activities in the meantime. You think because you have lodged a 457 Visa you can stay in Australia while that application is being processed. You do not realize that if you do not leave Australia before the expiry of your 3 months stay permission you will become unlawful. This is because a Business (Subclass 457) Visa lodged whilst the applicant is outside of Australia does not have any bridging visas attached.
Wavelength Migration Services specialises in providing migratory services to healthcare professionals wanting to live and work in Australia. So if you are concerned about your visa application please contact us and speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents today.
Contact Wavelength Migration Services on 02 8353 9000 or e-mail migration@wave.com.au
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Becoming a Specialist – The Australian Specialist Registration Process
Applying for Specialist Assessment in Australia is the application pathway towards obtaining Fellowship with the corresponding specialty college. This in turn is a prerequisite for gaining full specialist registration in Australia, which will allow you to work unsupervised and in many cases apply for Australian permanent residency.
The purpose of the assessment process is to determine equivalence of qualifications and experience of overseas trained doctors, to those of an Australian/New Zealand trained doctor. Applicants for Specialist Assessment are expected to have satisfied all the training and examination requirements to practice in their field of specialty in their country of training.
If an Overseas Trained Specialist (OTS) commences the Specialist Assessment process they will be required to lodge an application with the Australian Medical Council (AMC) as well as the relevant College.
As an overview of the process the applicant will be required to complete the AMC Application Forms as well as provide supporting certified documentation that meets the AMC's exact specifications. It should be noted that delays often occur with the AMC process due to the fact the applicant does not supply the correct documentation or documentation that does not follow the AMC's exact specifications.
Following the AMC's assessment, copies of the applicant’s relevant documentation will be forwarded to the applicable specialty college for assessment.
Upon receipt the college will conduct an initial assessment and if satisfactory the college will organise an interview. Each speciality college has varying interview requirements which are generally an in-person interview (depending on the college, interviews may also be completed by video or telephone conference for overseas candidates).
Following the interview, the applicant’s comparability will be determined and the applicant will either be deemed ‘Substantially Comparable’, ‘Partially Comparable’, or ‘Not Comparable’. If the applicant is found ‘Substantially Comparable’ to an Australian trained specialist, the applicant may then be eligible to apply for Fellowship. However some speciality colleges even if deemed ‘Substantially Comparable’ will require the applicant to complete a period of supervised practice. If the applicant is found ‘Partially Comparable’, the applicant will have to complete peer review, further training or possibly exams before being eligible to finalise Fellowship. If the applicant is deemed ‘Not Comparable’ most often the applicant would be required to enter the speciality training program or other extensive requirements.
Regardless, the College will advise of any further requirements after completing the interview. Overall, the application process for Specialist Assessment with the AMC and College can take several months (depending on interview availability etc). This does not include the potential time frame following the assessment to complete any further Fellowship requirements or obtaining registration with the relevant medical board.
Area of Need Option
Due to the long processing times of Specialist Assessment, many overseas trained doctors that already have a job offer in Australia will initially apply for Area of Need (AON) registration. AON registration requires the sponsoring employer to be a certified AON location, meaning that due to a lack of doctors in that location, they have been unable to fill the position with an Australian trained specialist. AON registration requires the sponsored employee to work in an approved position under nominated supervision, at specified approved locations. It should be noted that for an overseas trained doctor to apply via AON they must have an Offer of Employment with an Australian employer who has an approved AON Position.
AON assessment and medical board registration takes a total of 4-6 months to complete, so it can be beneficial to apply for this assessment (if eligible). The AON can often be a considerably quicker pathway to initial registration because these applications are prioritised by the AMC and Colleges. In addition to this, further training or exams are not required because AON is a supervised registration. Most specialty colleges now offer a dual assessment process, which means that you would only need to submit one application and undergo one interview to be assessed for both AON and Specialist Assessment simultaneously.
If an Overseas Trained Specialist does not have or is unable to obtain an offer of employment with an Australian employer who has an approved AON Position undergoing the Specialist Assessment may increase chances in gaining Australian employment.
This is due to the fact that many Australian Healthcare employers may consider employing an Overseas Trained Specialist once the AMC and the Speciality College determines the applicant’s comparability.
Regardless if you are seeking assistance or advice with employment, speciality assessment & registration or an Australian Immigration Visa Wavelength International & Migration Services can assist.
If you have any questions or require any assistance please contact Wavelength International on info@wave.com.au or 02 8353 9000 or Wavelength Migration Services on migration@wave.com.au
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MODL Submissions
Our migration agents have been busy lobbying the government to keep healthcare professionals in mind when redesigning the Migration Occupation In Demand List. Read Jenny Xu’s (MARN 0428620) letters to the Department Submission 1 and Submission 2.
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Click below to view our previous news bulletins for Individuals
Wavelength Migration Services News Bulletin Individuals - 4th Edition.pdf
Wavelength Migration Services News Bulletin Individuals - 3rd Edition.pdf
Wavelength Migration Services News Bulletin Individuals - 2nd Edition.pdf
Wavelength Migration Services News Bulletin Individuals - 1st Edition.pdf