East West Migration Services - Registered Agent MARN 1791388

29/06/2023

New Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa arrangements for UK passport holders
Australia and the UK have agreed to put in place new arrangements under the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program and Youth Mobility Scheme following entry into force of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (Australia-UK FTA)​.

Commencement of new arrangements
Under the new arrangements:

from 1 July 2023, UK passport holders can apply for a Working Holiday visa between the ages of 18 and 35 years inclusive
from 1 July 2024, UK passport holders can be granted up to three separate Working Holiday visas without having to meet any specified work requirements.
The new arrangements will apply to all Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa applications for UK passport holders lodged from the date of implementation.

Increased eligible age range for UK applicants
The eligible age for UK applicants for Working Holiday (subclass 417) visas is currently 18 to 30 years inclusive.

From 1 July 2023, the upper limit will increase to 35 years. From this date, UK passport holders can lodge an application for any Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa until midnight (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on the day before their 36th birthday.

Removal of ‘specified work’ requirements
To be eligible for a second or third Working Holiday visa applicants currently must show that they have done at least three or six months of ‘specified work’.

From 1 July 2024, UK passport holders will not have to meet this requirement when applying for a second or third Working Holiday visa on or after this date.

Maximum stay of three years
Working Holiday visa holders can currently stay three years in Australia. This stay consists of three separate visas granted for 12 months each. This excludes any 'COVID-19 affected visa' granted at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. These arrangements will not change.

From 1 July 2024, UK passport holders, including those already granted a subclass 417 visa, who are eligible to apply for a second or third Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa, will not have to meet any specified work requirements when applying for a second and third visa.

UK passport holders can choose to apply for a first, second and third Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa at any time while they still meet the eligible age requirement. They do not need to stay in Australia for three years in a row. Applicants can lodge applications for second and third Working Holiday (subclass 417) visas in or outside Australia.

If a UK passport holder has already spent one or two years in Australia on a Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa before the new arrangements commence, they can apply for the remaining visa(s) under the new arrangements from 1 July 2024. This will enable access to the maximum of three years in Australia.

Other WHM program settings
All other existing arrangements under the WHM program will continue to apply to UK passport holders.

29/06/2023

New visa application charges from 1 July 2023

​​From 1 July 2023, new visa application charges will apply.

The new charges apply to all visa applications received by the Department on or after 1 July 2023.

The Dept's website will be updated to reflect these changes for each individual visa type. In the meantime, you can determine the new visa application charge (VAC) by using the Visa Pricing Estimator.

Find out about Australian visas, immigration and citizenship.

24/04/2023

CHANGES FOR NZ CITIZENS

From 1 July 2023

Long term New Zealand citizens resident in Australia will have their period of permanent residence backdated for citizenship purposes
All New Zealand citizens holding an SCV will be considered permanent residents for citizenship purposes.
New Zealand citizens granted an SCV before 1 July 2022 will have their period of permanent residence for citizenship purposes backdated to 1 July 2022.
New Zealand citizens granted an SCV for the first time on or after 1 July 2022 will be considered a permanent resident for citizenship purposes from the date of their SCV grant.
Provisions will also apply to New Zealand citizens who are overseas, but held an SCV immediately before last leaving Australia.
Children of SCV holders

From 1 July 2023, any child born in Australia on or after 1 July 2022 to an SCV holder may automatically acquire Australian citizenship at birth.
From 1 July 2023, children who meet these circumstances can apply for​ evidence of citizenship.
Australia citizenship applications until 1 July 2023

These provisions will not apply to citizenship applications submitted before 1 July 2023. Applications submitted before this date must meet the current requirements at that application before this date, and you do not meet the eligibility requirements.

Contact East West Migration if you need help with applying for citizenship.

08/03/2023

Pathway to PR for some 482 visa holders.

This change allows access to the Temporary Residence Transition Stream (TRTS) of the ENS 186 visa subclass, from 01 July 2022 for all short-term stream TSS 482 visa holders who:
• Spent cumulative period of 12 months or more in Australia between 1 Feb 2020 and 14 Dec 2021
• Hold a TSS 482 Visa at the time of application These changes significantly improve the situation for a large number of short term TSS 482 visa holders, who previously did not have an existing path to their PR.
Unfortunately, the same does not apply to all TSS 482 Short-Term Visa holders, especially applicants who just got their 482 visas granted or came to Australia after the border was open.

However, Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa holders who have been in Australia for at least one year between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021 are also able to apply for permanent residence through the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) subclass 186 visa. Applicants must also meet other visa and nomination requirements as per the TRT stream of ENS visa.
This pathway will be available for two years effective from 01 July 2022.

23/11/2022

The United Kingdom-Australia Free Trade Agreement was passed by the Senate this week.

The agreement will remove the regional work component for UK nationals and increases the eligible age to 35 years.

Additional exemptions to labour market testing will also come into effect as with other ITO agreements.

All countries involved are required to ratify the agreements through their own legislative systems before the agreements can come into operation.

04/09/2022

The response has been mostly positive but workers and migrant organisations are raising concerns about visa processing times and worker exploitation protections.

28/05/2022

Great news for WA

Under the 2022-23 migration program, Western Australia has announced that it will accept applications from overseas skilled migrants and the number of occupations available in the Graduate stream will be increased to just over 330.

14/03/2022

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-and-support/ukraine-visa-support

​The Depa​rtment is supporting Australia’s response to the escalating crisis in Ukraine and is progressing outstanding visa applications from Ukrainian nationals as a priority, across all visa categories. 

19/01/2022

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500/temporary-relaxation-of-working-hours-for-student-visa-holders?fbclid=IwAR3Zo-ilCctzuHxwYNif1QliB72H5GUJ-LBHhwTfyU0s_eA_YiEnwg2H9Y0

The following entities have been approved to access temporary relaxation of working hours for student visa holders.

19/01/2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has issued a call for international students and working holiday makers to "come on down" to Australia as the nation grapples with workforce shortages.

22/11/2021

***Border reopening for eligible visa holders***
It was announced today that Australian borders will reopen on 1 December 2021 to allow travel to Australia without the requirement for travel exemptions for eligible visa holders. Other requirements for Australian Travel declarations and pre flight COVID testing will continue.

The list of eligible visas:

Subclass 200 – Refugee visa

Subclass 201 – In-country Special Humanitarian visa

Subclass 202 – Global Special Humanitarian visa

Subclass 203 – Emergency Rescue visa

Subclass 204 – Woman at Risk visa

Subclass 300 – Prospective Marriage visa

Subclass 400 – Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa

Subclass 403 – Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (other streams, including Australian Agriculture Visa stream)

Subclass 407 – Training visa

Subclass 408 – Temporary Activity visa

Subclass 417 – Working Holiday visa

Subclass 449 – Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa

Subclass 457 – Temporary Work (Skilled) visa

Subclass 461 – New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa

Subclass 462 – Work and Holiday visa

Subclass 476 – Skilled – Recognised Graduate visa

Subclass 482 – Temporary Skill Shortage visa

Subclass 485 – Temporary Graduate visa

Subclass 489 – Skilled – Regional (Provisional) visa

Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa

Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa

Subclass 500 – Student visa

Subclass 580 – Student Guardian visa (closed to new applicants)

Subclass 590 – Student Guardian visa

Subclass 785 – Temporary Protection visa

Subclass 790 – Safe Haven Enterprise visa

Subclass 870 – Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa

Subclass 988 – Maritime Crew visa

A useful travel preparation list is also available on the Dept.'s COVID website detailing each step required in planning to come to Australia.

TBA: whether bridging visa holders for these eligible visas will also be able to travel under these arrangements.

*****These travelers will STILL be subject to the specific quarantine requirements for their Australian arrival destination. Each state's and territory's quarantine requirements are available in one place on the Australian Government's website.*****

Further information about these changes are available on the Department's COVID-19 webpages.