One of the most significant changes coming in effect in July is for the applicants of the ACT.
For ACT Applicants
As of July 1st 2018, the ACT Government is enforcing its new guidelines to make all documents mandatory.
“If applicants or agents fail to provide any of the required documents, applications/expressions of interest will be assessed as being unsuccessful,” says Chaman Preet, a qualified visa consultant.
Earlier, applicants could apply without all necessary documents.
The documents could be supplied later on the case officer’s request.
However, from July 2018 onwards, if any document is missing from the application, the case officer may reject the application without asking for any documents.
Migration agent Rohit Mohan is of the opinion that other states could follow ACT.
“I think, other states will follow suit soon as the workload is huge,” says Mohan.
Partner’s Skill Points
Until now, applicants could get 5 points from their partners’ skill assessment.
The maximum age limit of partner is being reduced from 50 to 45, for the skill assessment.
“The maximum age limit for an applicant to claim spouse or de facto partner points has been revised from 50 to 45 years, that will make a huge impact on a lot of applicants who were hoping to get five extra points, ” Says Chaman Preet.
Credit Card Surcharge
The credit charge surcharge for all applications will be raised from 0.98% to 1.32%.
Rohit Mohan opines that it is not a very big change, but people should be mindful.
For South Australia Applicants
State nominated Subclass 132 Significant Business History applicants will have an expanded 'Benefit to State' (BTS) requirement for exports from 1 July 2018.
The Benefit to State requirement varies depending on the client's age, business type and location.
Applicants who are aged under 55 and not accessing a territorial concession will need to export at least AUD 600,000 of South Australian products or services (turnover value).
However, the majority cannot be wine if total exports are less than $1 million.
