If you’ve decided to leave the UK and immigrate to Australia, then you’re certainly not alone. UK immigrants in fact make up the largest percentage of immigrants in Australia, with an astounding 1.2 million UK-born people now living in Australia (as of July 2009).
With Australia being such a popular home for those born in the UK, you should find that your relocation to ‘down-under’ will run smoothly with the help of immigration services and other UK locals on hand for advice. However it’s still worthwhile keeping abreast of all the latest Australian immigration news, so that you know you are up-to-date with all the most relevant changes and amendments to the Australian immigration system.
For example the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship recently announced changes to the Long Stay Visa program. Essentially this means that if you are planning to get an Employer-sponsored Visa there are now new minimum salary levels and language requirements, so you should re-check your eligibility should that be the path you wish to go down.
Similarly those who lodged applications to become chefs in Australia before April 2009 were informed in June 2009 that they no longer need to meet an English proficiency requirement – meaning that all those waiting on Visa applications of this nature should now see their processing times reduced somewhat.
News announcements such as these are worth knowing about – because you never know, a new regulation or amendment to the Australian Immigration policies could be very relevant to your application.
Reduced waiting times thats what we like to hear