Is immigration to Australia from Russia possible? How to implement it? Australia is the smallest continent of the world, which at the same time is also considered a country and is known as the "Country below." The official name of the country is the Australian Commonwealth, it includes the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and many other small islands. It is the sixth largest country in the world, its capital is Canberra, and the largest city is Sydney. Other major cities in the country: Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. She is also an immigrant-recognized country in the world. The process of moving to Australia is transparent and understandable.
Australia is the perfect choice for immigrants
Australia is one of the most developed countries in the world and is the 13th largest economy in the world with a high level of per capita income, and it ranks tenth in the world table by this indicator. At the same time, Australia has a very low unemployment rate of about 5%.
Immigration Benefits:
- A healthy lifestyle in Australia and fresh air. The country with the lowest level of air pollution has many natural ecosystems - golden sandy beaches, tropical forests, arid deserts and snowy mountains. In total there are 500 national parks and 14 world heritage sites.
- A multicultural society. 43% of Australia’s population are from overseas or have parents born overseas.
- Australia has a very low population density of 6.4 people per square mile.
- The Australian healthcare system is one of the most effective in the world. Medicare covers up to one-time health insurance for its citizens, and there is also a private healthcare system.
- High affordable level of education, the third place in the world in the number of foreign students. There are 1,200 educational institutions and 22,000 educational courses.
The country has a universal visa system. All non-citizens must have a visa to enter. The target level of migration in Australia is set annually with a balance of various directions: profession, family, students, refugees / humanitarian aid, with particular attention being paid to reducing the number of family visas and increasing labor. Not everyone has the right to a visa to this country. Visa issues are governed by the Migration Act, Regulation, and are implemented by the Immigration Agency in Australia.
Rules are often changed in accordance with legislative amendments and the precedents of the Federal and Higher Courts. In 2019, numerous amendments were also made to the current migration legislation of the country. The immigration system has legal discrimination based on factors such as age, medical factors, nature and criminal grounds, previous visa history of the applicant, statistics on the risk of delay in different countries and so on. The “Cap and queue” parameter is a feature of some types of visas, delaying the processing of these visas when filling out the annual quota.
Visa selection in 2019
According to statistics, Australia is one of the leading countries that immigrants choose for permanent residence in 2019. The system of scoring in the studied country is the most progressive in the world. Basically, immigration to Australia involves the issuance of three validated visas, which fall under the General Qualified Migration Program and are based on key selection factors, such as age, education, work experience, knowledge of English and others.
A residence visa (PR) allows its holder to live, work and study without any restrictions for five years.
Advantages of having a PR visa to Australia for Russians:
- A PR visa allows its holder to live in the country under study for unlimited time and travel without restrictions to and from the country.
- On a PR visa you can get higher education in the country. If in some cases, because of additional costs, applicants need funds - for them there are certain educational loans.
- To get the benefits of social security, the holder of a PR visa must use it for at least 2 years.
- The Social Security section covers the following benefits: sickness, unemployment, and students.
- Children of a PR visa holder who are born in Australia receive the citizenship of this country.
- The holder of a PR visa can also sponsor a relative’s application for permanent residence, provided that the applicant meets certain conditions of residence and support.
Pursuant to Commonwealth Jobs Laws, no employee over the age of 21 in the national system of workplace relationships can earn less than the minimum wage, which provides the standard of living in Australia. The minimum wage for an employee is usually indicated in remuneration or an agreement setting the base rate for regular hours. It may also contain additional tariffs for overtime hours or penalties for certain shifts outside normal business hours.
Employers must pay the correct rate of payment, in accordance with the appropriate remuneration or agreement, for all hours that the employee must attend, including work meetings and training. Since January 1, 2010, benefits for immigrants in Australia have been established, employees of the national workplace relations system receive basic minimum benefits, known as National Employment Standards (NES), which include:
- The maximum number of working hours per week.
- Requests for flexible working conditions.
- Childcare leave and related rights.
- Annual vacation.
- Personal leave / care, family leave and family and household leave.
- Public Works.
- Long service life.
- Holidays.
- Termination notice and reserve payment.
Student immigration
Foreign students have many opportunities for studying in the country studied, so tens of thousands of students come annually to take advantage of the high level of education offered.
The system of student visas to Australia for Russians currently has 8 subclasses. Consider them:
- ELICOS independent visa (subclass 570);
- visa in the school sector (subclass 571);
- visa for vocational education and training (subclass 572);
- certificate I, II, III or IV;
- certificate of a professional graduate;
- professional diploma
- visa in the higher education sector (subclass 573);
- academic degree;
- bachelors degree;
- graduate certificate;
- diploma;
- Master's degree, only teaching / term paper;
- higher education diploma / advanced diploma;
- visa for graduate studies in the research sector subclass 574;
- non-award visa (subclass 575);
- visa in a foreign or military sector (subclass 576);
- guardian student visa (subclass 580).
Skillselect Program
This point-based program has 5 visa subclasses. The minimum requirement for immigration to Australia as a skilled worker is 65 points. And it is quite achievable.
List of subclasses of the Australian immigration program:
- Qualified Independent Visa (Division 189);
- Qualified Visa (Division 190)
- Temporary graduation visa (Division 485);
- qualified nomination or sponsorship visa (temporary) (subclass 489);
- qualified regional visa (subclass 887).
There are a number of basic requirements that applicants must meet in order to be accepted into the GSM program:
- Age - no more than 50 years.
- English is a sufficient level, verified using the International English Language Testing System.
- Nominal profession - the applicant independently determines his profession, which corresponds to his skills and qualifications, it should be indicated in the list of offered professions.
- Assessment of skills - according to the results of certification in the Australian body appointed to assess the chosen profession.
- Health Assessment - A medical examination to confirm good health.
- Personality assessment - a criminal record check.
If the applicant cannot fulfill these basic requirements, he should not continue to work with the application for general qualified migration.
Popular Visa: Division 189
Working Immigration to Australia from Russia involves the issuance of visas of subclass 189. They are most popular among applicants. Most likely because it does not require any sponsorship or nomination from an Australian employer, state, or family member. Every year, tens and thousands of qualified professionals from around the world apply for this visa.
Application Procedure:
- Initially, you need to collect the details for creating an online profile and submit the EOI (expression of interest) in the SkillSelect online immigration system in Australia.
- An applicant for an OT Professional Immigration Profile to Australia must score a minimum of 65 points out of 100 in order to be accepted, however, to receive an invitation to apply for an application (ITA), a higher score may be required than this. This nuance needs to be clarified.
- After receiving the ITA from the immigration authorities, the applicant will have 60 days to submit a full application for PR along with the documents.
Nomination Visa: Division 190
Professional immigration to Australia from Russia with Visa subclass 190 allows its holder the right to live and work anywhere in the country, all family members can be indicated in the application.
To apply, you must first complete an expression of interest through SkillSelect. This can be done both in Australia and abroad.
Application conditions - by invitation only. To receive an invitation you must:
- Experience in the position indicated on Australia's list of sought-after immigration professions.
- Have a skills assessment with the appropriate assessment body for this position.
- Present an expression of interest.
- Be over 18 years old and under 50 years old at the time of issue of the invitation.
- Meet the basic requirements of qualified migration, including being tested for knowledge of the English language, confirming the state of health and personal characteristics (lack of criminal record).
- Score at least 65 points on the test.
The following family members are included in the application for this type of immigration application to Australia:
- spouse
- child or child of a partner;
- relative or relative of the partner.
Employment obligations - living in this state or territory that has offered a vacancy for at least two years.
This visa allows the immigrant and accompanying family members:
- Permanently reside and work in the country.
- Studying in Australia.
- Sign up for Medicare, an Australian health care program.
- Get access to certain social benefits.
- Apply for Australian citizenship in accordance with the criteria for residence.
Job placement for graduates
Graduate employment is subclass 485. This visa allows immigrant students who have completed at least 2 years of study in Australia to live and work in the country from 18 months to 4 years, provided that they nominate the profession on the Australian SOL list.
Post-graduate work allows international students with a bachelor's degree or higher at an Australian higher education institution to remain in Australia for up to 4 years. Applicants for this stream do not need to be assigned a profession in the SOL list.
Unlike most visas with general qualification immigration, applications are not only by invitation. Also, applicants do not need to submit an expression of interest. However, there are some conditions that applicants must meet before immigrating to Australia:
- They must be over 18 years old and under 50 years old, to confirm knowledge of the English language, health and character, the remaining requirements are similar to subclass 190.
- Applicants must receive a recognized diploma, professional qualification, or degree, such as a bachelor, master or doctorate in an Australian educational institution.
- The course must be registered in the Register of Institutes and Courses of the Commonwealth of Foreign Students (CRICOS).
- Qualifications must be obtained within 6 months before applying.
- The course must be at least 92 weeks of study time, must last at least 16 months and taught in English.
- The student must have a valid Australian student visa at the time of study.
Family members
Family members of an Australian citizen can obtain permanent residence in Australia using three categories of visas. Partner visa - if the applicant is married to an Austrian citizen. You can apply for it in the studied country or abroad. Most applicants obtain permanent residence in two ways of immigrating to Australia:
- Temporary partner visa of the 1st stage (subclass 309 or 820).
- Stage 2 permanent partner visa (subclass 100 or 801).
Holders of a preliminary visa will be eligible for a permanent visa after two years from the date of filing a temporary visa, if the Department is satisfied that the applicant and the sponsor remain in a permanent relationship.
Parents are available in two categories of visas:
- Cumulative parental visa.
- Unpaid parental visa.
Due to the unrealistically long waiting time (up to 30 years) for the category of parental visas that do not include contributions, for many elderly parents there remains only an expensive category for obtaining visas.
If we take as an example the parent visa of subclass 143 for one applicant, then the cost of applying for a visa (VAC):
- The first VAC is 3945 AUD.
- The second VAC is 43600 AUD.
Children of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen can obtain permanent residence using a child visa sponsored by their parents.
The child must be:
- Single;
- younger than 18 years old;
- full-time student aged 18 to 25 years or 18 years or older who cannot work due to disability and depend on sponsor parents.
Depending on the place where the child was born and the visa status of the parents when the child was born, the child may be eligible for permanent residence in Australia and citizenship at the same time.
School children must go to Australian schools. Tuition is paid and costs from 5,000 to 10,000 Australian dollars per year, depending on the states of Australia. You also need to be prepared for this.
Before moving to Australia for permanent residence from Russia, it is necessary to draw up documents for family migration:
- birth certificates of children;
- Marriage certificate;
- marital status;
- copies of all passports.
All documents must be officially translated into English. The Australian government is very strict about family migration, you need to demonstrate that the family has enough money to live in the country.
Immigrant couples can sponsor only one parent group for this visa. Immigrant parents will be able to choose between a three-year visa, which costs $ 5,000, and a five-year visa with a payment of $ 10,000.
Sponsorship of children of visa holders will have to provide their parents with health insurance. They will act as financial guarantors and are required by law to pay any debts to taxpayers as a result of emergency medical care.
Application rejected
Each year, the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection receives thousands of work, family, student, and migration visa applications. Many of them will be successful, but thousands of job seekers are refused. This will happen if the documents for immigration to Australia are in doubt. Some applications will be refused due to fraud or inappropriateness of the applicant, but some will be rejected due to innocent errors, inconsistencies or misunderstandings.
Applying for a business, partner, family, student, or work visa can be a difficult process, and it’s important to get it right, otherwise you can spend thousands of dollars in migration fees and six to eight months of personal time. Today it is difficult to communicate with the Department to solve problems, before it was possible to call experts and chat, but now this can not be done.
In addition, the visa department of the Australian Embassy in Moscow has ceased to function since 03.15. 2019 year. The obligation to fill out applications for citizens of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will be performed by the Australian Embassy in Belgrade.
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The application for consideration is separate from the visa application itself, with a deadline for submitting an application and a separate fee, which is returned if the appeal is won. Many decisions of the Department of Immigration adopted by the Review Tribunal have been reversed. These cases can be considered errors of the Immigration Department in the interpretation and application of migration law.
Appeals are also possible in the Federal and High Courts. These are also separate statements that usually require legal representation. A good consultant can increase the chances of choosing the best way to obtain a visa, correctly preparing an application for a visa with all the necessary evidence and effectively presenting the case during the consideration.
Migration agents or lawyers are not members of the immigration service. No person or company can “guarantee” 100% that a visa will be issued. For this reason, generally speaking, any agreement on assistance in migration containing a financial “guarantee” should be considered with suspicion. In some markets, customers expect and demand the offer “no visa, no fee” or “money back guarantee”, but these are erroneous illusions. In these markets, lawyers specialize in complex and complicated contracts in order to deceive the client and make him think that the money will be returned, this has never happened.
Tips and reviews experienced
The lucky ones who went through all the circles of the “immigration hell” received a visa, successfully moved to the country, found their home and settled in it, gladly share their feedback and tips for newcomers to immigrants. The main thing is that they mainly confirm that the country did not deceive their expectations, the process of moving went as planned, but many believe that having experience, immigration would have been much calmer.
Tips experienced:
- Before moving to Australia for permanent residence from Russia, filling out an application, make sure that the type of activity that the applicant will carry out in the country studied corresponds to a visa, since the funds for the visa are not returned.
- It is recommended that you apply for a visa at least six weeks before your intended trip.
- It is not recommended to reserve tickets until the expat has a visa on hand.
- After the type of visa is selected, select its subclass on the profile site of the Australian Migration Service in order to study all the necessary information about the subclass and get a step-by-step guide on how to apply.
- The submitted application online can track the progress of execution and makes it possible to reuse information for other applications, update it or provide additional information.
- You can simultaneously apply for several visas at the same time, but keep in mind that issuing a new one can invalidate the action of others, in which case it is better to request a multiple visa.
- An emigrant can stay in the country several times during the validity of his visa, if it contains multiple conditions.
- When filing an application - evidence is crucial. In particular, work, family and business visas may require a lot of supporting evidence. Relationships must be confirmed, qualifications and work experience demonstrated, and cash assets shown. Group certificates, tax returns, bank records and payrolls are effective in confirming employment.
- The Department of Immigration cross-checks all of the information provided, as well as examines previous visa applications and government documents to verify their compliance. Non-compliance found, even if it was innocent or accidental, can lead to a delay in the process, the cost of professional advice, and the potential risk of failure.
- Applicants should be aware that the Australian Department of Immigration will look for information on public records and social media profiles and verify education records with original institutions. Information in public profiles of social networks that does not match the information in the application may cause a denial.
The Department believes that using a hired agent can make the entire immigration process easier and faster, but this is not a requirement.