Increased Federal Processing Fees – Effective 30th April 2020

IRCC has announced increases in the federal Permanent Resident Visa fees, to come into effect on April 30, 2020 (and be increased every 2 years thereafter).  The new federal application fees for provincial nominees are as follows:

• principal applicant: from CAD$550 to CAD$825
• spouse / common-law partner: from CAD$550 to CAD$825
• dependent child: from CAD$150 to CAD$225
• Right of Permanent Residence: from CAD$490 to CAD$500

Not sure if you are eligible? Calculate now

There are 2.17 million people presently in Australia on a temporary visa.

The changes announced in this article will help facilitate this for those who may be stood down or lose work hours as a result of the coronavirus. 

Visitor Visa Holders

• International tourists should return to their home country as quickly as possible

International Students Visa Holders

• Students are encouraged to rely on family support, part-time work & their own savings to sustain themselves in Australia
• Students who have been in Australia for 12 months or longer may be eligible to access their Australian superannuation
• The government will be flexible to International Students meeting their visa conditions due to pandemic
• Able to work up to 40 hours per fortnight
• Students working in major supermarkets, aged care or nursing can work for extended hours to support these critical sectors

Temporary Skilled Visa Holders

• Those who have been stood down, but not laid off, will maintain their visa validity & opportunity to extend their visa as per normal arrangements
• Businesses can reduce the hours of the visa holder without the person being in breach of their visa condition
• Able to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation this financial year
• Those who have been laid off due to coronavirus should leave the country immediately in line with existing visa conditions if they are unable to secure a new sponsor
• If a 4-year visa holder be re-employed after coronavirus pandemic, their time already spent in Australia will count towards their permanent residency skilled work experience requirements

Working Holiday Visa – Critical sectors only

• Some limited flexibility will be provided to
  support the critical sectors of health, aged and disability care, agriculture and food processing, and childcare
• Exempt from the six-month work limitation with the one employer
• Eligible for a further visa to keep working in these critical sectors if their current visa is due to expire in the next six months
• Those who cannot sustain themselves over the next 6 months should leave the country

Temporary Graduate Visa Holders

• Eligible to access their Australian superannuation if needed for support

Read the full announcement on Saturday, 04 April 2020 here.

From 1 January 2021, free movement will end and the UK will introduce a points-based immigration system. The new system will treat EU and non-EU citizens equally and transform the way in which all migrants come to the UK to work.

Under a points-based immigration system, points are assigned for specific skills, qualifications, salaries and shortage occupations. Visas are then awarded to those who gain enough points.

Criteria for Skilled workers:

• they have a job
  offer from a Home Office approved sponsor
• the job offer
  is at the required skill level – RQF 3 or above (A Level and equivalent)
• they speak
  English
• occupation on
  the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code

In addition to this:

• if they earn
  more than the required minimum salary threshold, they are eligible to make an
  application
• if they earn
  less than the required minimum salary threshold, but no less than £20,480, they
  may still be eligible if they can demonstrate that they have a job offer in a
  specific shortage occupation or a PhD relevant to the job

Anyone coming to work in the UK will need to be paid the higher of the specific salary threshold for their occupation – the ‘going rate’ – and the general salary threshold. However, some applicants will be able to trade characteristics, such as their qualifications, against a lower salary. The general minimum salary threshold will be £25,600. See GOV.UK for further information on the ‘going rate’ for specific occupations and further exemptions.

• 

NSW is now closed to applications for nomination under the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)

NSW nomination is now closed as we have filled the places provided to us by the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs. This includes the:

·       Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) and

·       Business Talent (Permanent) visa (subclass 132)

You cannot submit an application for NSW nomination for the:

·       188A,

·       188B,

·       188C,

·       188E, and;

·       132SBH visas.

We will open to applications for NSW nomination for these visas under the BIIP program in the new financial year commencing 1 July 2020.

Applications that have been received and acknowledged will be processed and are not affected by this closure.

You can still submit an application for NSW nomination for the:

·       188A Extension,

·       188C Extension,

·       888A,

·       888B, and;

·       888C visas.

These visas are not subject to a ceiling.

UK Global Talent Visa

You can apply for a Global Talent visa if you work in a qualifying field and have been endorsed:

• as a recognised leader (exceptional talent)
• as an emerging leader (exceptional promise)
• under the UK Research and Innovation endorsed funder option
• be from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland

Eligibility

To get a Global Talent visa, you need to apply to be endorsed:

• as a leader (exceptional talent)
• as an emerging leader (exceptional promise)
• under the UK Research and Innovation endorsed funder option

Your application will be reviewed by an organisation that’s related to your qualifying field, called an ‘endorsing body’.

Fees

Who you’re applying for	Stage 1 – endorsement application	Stage 2 – visa application
You	£456	£152
You if you’re from Turkey or Macedonia	£456	£97
All dependants	–	£608

How long you can stay

You can apply to stay for between 1 and 5 years. You only have to pay the healthcare surcharge for the amount of time you choose to stay.

You can apply to extend your visa as many times as you like. Each extension can last from 1 to 5 years.

Apply for settlement

Once you’ve been in the UK for:

• 3 years with an exceptional talent visa
• 3 years with an exceptional talent endorsement in science
• 3 years with an endorsement under the UKRI endorsed funder scheme
• 5 years with an exceptional promise endorsement in either arts and culture or digital technology

What you can and cannot do

You can:

• work – for an employer, as a director of a company or be self-employed
• change jobs without telling the Home Office
• do voluntary work
• travel abroad and return to the UK
• bring family members with you

You cannot:

• get public funds
• work as a doctor or dentist in training
• work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach

 

“In Canada, children under five years old aren’t required to go to school. This means most Canadian preschools (like nursery schools and daycares) are private.

 

Preschool is for young children prior to their school years. It’s usually for kids between the ages of three and five. Some preschools, though, admit younger children, including toddlers between one and two years old.

 

There are many different types of preschool, including play-based, academic, Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia, local community (or cooperative), and religious preschools.” – Our Kids

 

Want to migrate to Canada? Check your eligibility for FREE here.

 

 

Want to migrate to Canada? Check your eligibility for FREE here.

 

Photo credit: Mykhailo Polenok

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TO MINIMISE RISK OF COMMUNITY SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS IN SINGAPORE

 

Returning residents and long-term pass holders – either with travel history in Hubei OR with PRC passports issued in Hubei

 

The following returning groups will be quarantined at home or other suitable facilities:

1. a) Residents (Singaporean Citizens/ PRs) with recent Hubei travel history within the last 14 days;
2. b) Long-term pass holders (including Work Passes and Permits, Student Pass, Dependent Pass and Long-term Visit Pass) with recent Hubei travel history within the last 14 days; and
3. c) PRs and long-term pass holders with PRC passports issued in Hubei.

 

Quarantine orders have legal force, with severe penalties for non-compliance.

 

New visitors with travel history in Hubei OR with PRC passports issued in Hubei

 

From 29 January 2020, 12pm, all new visitors with recent Hubei travel history within the last 14 days, or those with PRC passports issued in Hubei, will not be allowed entry into Singapore, or transit through Singapore.

 

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will suspend the issuance of all forms of new visas to those with PRC passports issued in Hubei with immediate effect.

 

Previously issued short-term and multiple-visit visas, as well as visa-free transit facilities, for those with PRC passports issued in Hubei, will also be suspended with immediate effect. During this period of suspension, they will not be allowed entry into Singapore.

 

 

According to TravelMath, The total flight duration from Singapore to Canada is 16 hours, 40 minutes.

However, the total duration of your trip depends on which Airline you take and the hours of your transit.

 

Many immigrants find that distance is the main issue for their migration journey. Our advice to that:

1. Discuss with your parents – Making the decision to migrate isn’t just your call. In respect, you should discuss with your family to see if they are comfortable with you living far away from them. Come up with a plan on how to keep in touch consistently. With their support, your migration journey will be successful.
2. Arranging travel plans –  Book trips for your family to come to visit you in Canada. If they are travelling in more often, you may apply Super Visa for them to stay for a longer period.
3. Bring your parents along – IF your parents love living in Canada and decide to join you, you can Sponsor them to become a Canadian PR just like you!
4. Plan your Vacation – In most provinces, Canadian employees receive a minimum of two weeks of vacation for every year of employment, except Saskatchewan where employees are entitled to three weeks of paid annual leave. That being said, you have at least once a year to travel back to your hometown for vacation. That 16 hours flight will not be an issue if you are aren’t travelling back and forth every 2-3 months.

 

Want to migrate to Canada? Check your eligibility for FREE here.

 

 

90% of new migrants thought that the weather in Canada during winter is too cold, nearly unbearable.

Is it true?

Watch the video below to hear the first-hand experience by immigrants from Singapore. Did they find the weather unbearable?

 

 

Want to migrate to Canada? Check your eligibility for FREE here.