Questions from Students Attending the ACU Seminar, 7 March 2012

9 March 2012 Dear ACU Students,

Thanks for your questions and for coming to the seminar on 7 March. There are a lot of changes coming up and we are more than happy to try to explain how they may affect you. Below are answers to questions which were sent through to Laura de Vet ahead of the seminar. If you think others would be interested in this information, please pass it onto them. Please register for Immigration News via our website as we will be posting updates as soon as we hear of changes or further details about SkillSelect: http://www.acacia-au.com/immigration-news.php Feel free to get in touch with us on 9230 0888 if you need assistance with your application process. Best of Luck in your Studies!

Mark Webster CEO, Acacia Immigration Australia Pty Ltd RMAN 9905466 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Some of us will have our student visa expiring on August and September. a. What type of visa are we eligible to apply to extend our visa while waiting for our Registration as RN or while waiting for our graduation? Since we'll be finishing our course by June and the registration could take 2-3 months, does that mean we can't apply yet for Graduate skilled visa? You need to have applied for your skills assessment to be able to lodge for a 485 visa. If you apply in the occupation of registered nurse, you would need to have your registration finalised before you can apply for your skills assessment. The solution may be to nominate a different occupation there are a number of occupations people with nursing degrees can pass skills assessment in for the purposes of a graduate skilled visa. Which occupation is appropriate will depend on your individual circumstances, so you may need some professional advice from a migration agent to get this right.

Acacia Immigration Australia Pty Ltd PO Box 1197, Queen Victoria Building, NSW, Australia, 1230 Tel: 61-2-9230-0888 Fax: 61-2-9230-0788 ACN: 088 999 142

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B. How soon can we apply for the tourist visa or extension of our student visa? Like can we apply as early as now? You can apply at any time for a further visa such as a visitor visa or student visa. However, if you apply for a tourist visa: - You would need to be a genuine visitor to obtain a visitor visa if your only reason for applying is to facilitate lodging a skilled visa application, the visitor visa application might be refused - You will have no work rights once this is granted - The visa might be granted with a no further stay condition. The no further stay condition would prevent you from lodging further visa applications whilst in Australia. - You need to have held a student visa within 6 months of the date of your skilled visa application, so if you apply too early, you may not meet this requirement.

C. Regarding the first question, we've heard about applying for tourist visa or student extension Visa...who are eligible to take the student visa extension? The tourist visa? What are the requirements for applying either of the 2 visas? How much is the application fee? Student visa extension You would need to either: - Be enrolled in a CRICOS registered course (http://cricos.deewr.gov.au); or - Be completing a masters or PhD by research and need extra time in Australia for marking to be completed. Cost for application: $535 Visitor Visa You would need to be a genuine visitor and provide the following information: - Sufficient funds to support yourself in Australia - Details of your tourist activities in Australia - Ties meaning you would return to Australia after your travel here Cost for application: $290 if lodged in Australia or $110 if lodged overseas Note that visitor visas have no work rights and may be granted subject to a no further stay condition.

D. If i'm not allowed to apply for student visa extension prior to graduation, and i was given a tourist visa, can i still continue working for 20hrs a week? There are no work rights on a visitor visa in general. In extreme circumstances you can apply for the no work condition to be removed. However, there would need to be exceptional reasons affecting the interests of Australia and I would say that most students would have little chance of securing them. Once you complete your course, you can work full time on your student visa. E. Once we receive our registration during our student visa extension or tourist visa,

Acacia Immigration Australia Pty Ltd PO Box 1197, Queen Victoria Building, NSW, Australia, 1230 Tel: 61-2-9230-0888 Fax: 61-2-9230-0788 ACN: 088 999 142

-3can we already apply for Graduate skilled visa? Providing you have no no further stay condition and have held a student visa within the last 6 months, you should be able to apply for a Graduate Skilled Subclass 485 (providing you meet the other requirements) ..................................................................................... Thank you for your email. I am interested in attending the seminar on Wednesday 7th of March. I would like to know what my visa options are after I finish my study, as I am half way through my study and already stressed out! Best way is to come in for a consultation well provide you with an immigration roadmap explaining the options available to you. You can call Acacia on 02 9230 0888 to set up a consultation time. ....................................................................................... My question to ask in this seminar would be: Do hospital still sponsor to fresh nursing graduates in any states for Permanent Residency (PR)? This depends on the locality. I would recommend you check the NSW HealthJobs site at: http://www7.health.nsw.gov.au/healthjobs/Default.cfm?ID=1233 for available positions. ........................................................................................ My questions: What are the requirements for TR? How to apply PR from TR? Can you explain about graduate visa? The main requirements for TR or a Skilled Graduate Subclass 485 visa are: - Pass skills assessment in a skilled occupation - Show competent English (6 minimum in each band of IELTS or hold a passport from UK, USA, Ireland, Canada or NZ) - Have completed qualifications taking at least 2 academic years of study in Australia and closely related to your nominated occupation within the last 6 months - Have held an eligible student visa within the last 6 months - Be aged between 18 and 49 inclusive - Pass health and character checks In order to lodge the application, you must have your English results already, and must have completed your course. You dont have to have a completed skills assessment, but must have applied for this. It generally takes about 12 months for 485 visas to be processed, but during this time you would have a bridging A visa with full work rights. These work rights come into effect once the substantive visa you hold when you apply expires (generally a student visa). ........................................................................................ My girlfriend its coming in may with the working and holiday visa, she will stay a year,
Acacia Immigration Australia Pty Ltd PO Box 1197, Queen Victoria Building, NSW, Australia, 1230 Tel: 61-2-9230-0888 Fax: 61-2-9230-0788 ACN: 088 999 142

-4and then she wants to study a master, so my question will be, wich its the best way to get here visa, maybe ask for facto visa, or she just apply for the regular student visa... i will be in touch for any further question There are a variety of ways you can apply for a visa for a partner, for instance: - Student dependent visa in this case, she would be a dependent on your visa and in most cases work up to 20 hours per week - Student visa in her own right this would require her to study in Australia and she could work 20 hours per week during semester and full time in semester break - To include her in a graduate skilled or permanent/provisional skilled visa, she would need to be in Australia and to have held a student visa within the last 6 months - Partner visa: you would need to be an Australian permanent resident or citizen for this to be possible You can include a partner in a visa application if: - You are married; or - You have lived together for the last 12 months; or - You have registered your relationship with a State or Territory Government ...................................................................................... What visa should I apply prior to finishing my course in order to work as a full time employee this coming 18th of June 2012? What documents do I need from my employer if they will sponsor my visa? The main employer sponsored visas are: - 457: 4-year temporary visa requiring a minimum salary of $49,330 - ENS: Permanent visa generally requiring 2-3 years of work experience. Minimum salary of $49,330 for most occupations and IELTS requirement of 5 minimum (vocational); or - RSMS: Permanent visa requiring a job offer in a regional area. No minimum salary, and IELTS requirement of 4.5 average (functional). Documents required will depend on which of these options you look at. For instance, if you are looking at a 457 visa or an ENS visa, the employer will need to provide evidence of training provided to employees, financials and a business profile. For an RSMS visa, there is no requirement to provide training information, but the employer might need to show that they have advertised your position and explain why none of the people who applied were suitable. In all cases, you will need details of your position this would generally be in the form of a letter of offer or confirmation of employment confirming your position, salary and tasks and duties.

My question is : I am aware that , GSM application is closing from 1st of July , I also heard from few people that Current 573 visa holder can also lodge for GSM until the 31st of December. Is it True ? Transitional applicants (ie people who had applied for or been granted a skilled graduate subclass 485 visa on 8 Feb 2010) can apply under the old points test and occupations list for permanent and provisional skilled visas until 31 December 2012.

Acacia Immigration Australia Pty Ltd PO Box 1197, Queen Victoria Building, NSW, Australia, 1230 Tel: 61-2-9230-0888 Fax: 61-2-9230-0788 ACN: 088 999 142

-5There are also transitional arrangements for people who held student visas on 8 Feb 2010 they can apply for a 485 visa under the old occupations list.

Acacia Immigration Australia Pty Ltd PO Box 1197, Queen Victoria Building, NSW, Australia, 1230 Tel: 61-2-9230-0888 Fax: 61-2-9230-0788 ACN: 088 999 142