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Family reunions: Government asked to introduce 5000 additional visa places Advocates have urged the government to provide an additional 5,000 visa places for refugees seeking family reunification. A new ReachTEL poll, commissioned by the Refugee Council of Australia (RCA) and Jesuit Social Services, found that most Australians support refugee family reunions. Currently, there are 13,750 visas available under the Special Humanitarian Program, which includes 5,000 for family reunions. RCA wants the government to introduce additional 5,000 visas for the family reunion.

Deadline for asylum seekers who came by boat over! Hundreds of asylum seekers, who came to Australia by boat in the previous government’s time, will now face deportation after the October 1 deadline to apply for a visa expired this week. Back in May, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton had announced that 7,500 asylum seekers who had come to Australia by boat during the previous Labor government had until October 1 to apply for a visa, or face deportation. Though most of them had made it to the deadline, there are still hundreds who will now lose government benefits – both monetary and accommodation.

€200,000 business studies scholarship for Australian students In an attempt to build new connections between Australia and Ireland over education, the Trinity Business School and the Ireland Funds Australia announced a new €200,000 scholarship fund on September 24th. The new scholarship is jointly funded by the Trinity and The Ireland Funds Australia and will fund students over the next five years. This will support Australian students who wish to do the masters’ in business administration.

SriLankan man, sick wife to be deported within weeks A SriLankan man, his wife and their 16-month-old will have to give up their attempts and dreams for a permanent residency in Australia and will soon be deported by the Department, who has not revealed the reason for visa application refusal. Eranda Ranasinghe Arachchige’s wife Lakmala Nissankage Harshani is being treated for a mental illness in a hospital, and the couple has already spent around $25,000 in their fight to secure an Australian permanent residency. Arachchige, 39, came to Australia as a student and he has a qualification and experience in hospitality. “My migration agent presented me a new contract of $11,000 to appeal. I didn’t have this much money,” he told the Herald Sun. Father Brian Collins from St Anthony’s Parish, Noble Park, where the family attends mass, has organised a supporting letter from Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart to be sent to Immigration Minister Mr Peter Dutton.

Australia 3rd most popular destination for international students Australia has been ranked as the third most favourite destination for international students. According to a Savills Australian Student Accommodation Market Report, international student growth is stronger than ever before as enrolments in higher education courses with student visas grew by 11 percent from 2015 to 2016. China (28%), India (11%), Republic of Korea (4%), Thailand (4%) and Vietnam (4%) are the top five countries of origin for international students studying in Australia. In 2016, the strongest growth in international student numbers in Australia came from Brazil (20%), Malaysia (18%), Nepal (16%), Hong Kong (10%) and Colombia (22%).

155,000 new foreigners make Australia home In the first three months of the 2017-2018 financial year, 155,000 foreigners have settled in Australia already. Migration experts are calling this a boost in net migration to a level that had not been seen since before the global financial crisis. According to The Australian, Australia’s growth rate is double that of the US and Canada and eight times the EU’s growth. As the government lifted the annual inflow of migrants from about 180,000 in 2015 to 231,000 in the year to March; almost 40 percent have already arrived in the first three months of this yea

NSW releases new occupation lists; 51 occupations removed   New South Wales has released its new occupation lists for 2017-2018 (sc190 and sc489). The list for Skilled (Nominated) 190 visas has shrunk to 130 occupations, with 51 occupations removed and 10 others added. You can access the new lists here.

US musician on tour in Australia deported over tourist visa An American musician booked for an Australian tour has been kicked out of the country after arriving in Melbourne on a tourist visa, 9News reported. Los Angeles-based indie performer Colleen Green was questioned by the Immigration officials over her visa and her plans while in Australia, and not satisfied with her response, she was detained overnight and then deported earlier this week. Taking a tour (or any other work-related commitments) on a tourist visa is illegal. Ms Green was on an Electronic Travel Authority, and according to the Immigration Department website, “you must not work in Australia on this (ETA) visa”.

Labor calls for urgent action on “systemic abuse” of foreign worker visas The Labor Party has expressed its concern over the “systemic abuse” of subclass 400 visas and has called on the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to urgently safeguard it. Labor Party says this little-known visa is being used as a “backdoor” to undermine the government’s foreign labour crackdown. The three-month 400 visa was introduced by the former Labor government in early 2013.

Make immigration to SA easier: SACES Overseas migrants to South Australia should be enticed by offering an easier path to citizenship and opening up job visas for more occupations, a recent report by the SA Centre for Economic Studies (SACES) has recommended. The think-tank has proposed that SA must boost the population in the country towns and small cities with foreigners who want the jobs that locals refuse. More South Australians have moved interstate than people from other states have moved to SA since at least 1981. Keeping this in mind, the SACES report altogether made 14 recommendations to create a regionally focused migration program to boost the population across the state. Some of the most important recommendations were: removing caveats from skill lists for employers in regional areas; improving post-study work rights for vocational education and training graduates working in regional areas; creating a start-up visa for those in the country temporarily on other grounds such as student visas, 457 visas, or working holiday; and targeting Business Innovation and Investment visas; among others.