From 23 November 2014, the entry period (the period between the grant of the visa and entry into Australia) and maximum period of stay (the period between entry into Australia and exit out of Australia) for a Subclass 400 (Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity)) visa will be extended from three months to six months to provide greater flexibility within the temporary work visa programme.

More information here.

The Government has signed a new Work and Holiday arrangement with Israel today.

Minister Cash said the agreement will enable up to 500 young adults from Israel and 500 young adults from Australia to enjoy a holiday in each other’s country, during which they may engage in short-term work and study.

A start date is yet to be announced.

 

 

The Government has announced the endorsement of the key findings in the Significant Investor Visa review, which include:

• the creation of a Premium Investor visa (PIV) with Austrade as the nominator
• the involvement of Austrade in determining complying investment policy
• enabling Austrade to nominate SIV and PIV applicants on behalf of the Australian Government
• allowing ‘role swapping’ between primary and secondary applicants during the provisional visa stage within all streams of the Business Innovation and Investment Programme (BIIP)
• a range of changes to improve visa processing times, many of which have already been implemented.

In addition to the findings of the review, there will also be an increase in the residency requirement for secondary applicants of the SIV to 180 days.

The changes are expected to come into effect from 1 July 2015.