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Welcome to the 1st Edition of Modern Migration Australia’s newsletter. We’ve started the newsletter because we want to share with you important and topical information about current migration issues and the work we do at Modern Migration Australia. Talking of the work, its fair to say our job centers on helping you achieve your migration goals. We do this because everyone at Modern Migration Australia has there own migration story and this is our motivation for being professionals in this industry. My own personal migration story begins with my parents who were pre and post war migrants from Southern Europe. In later life, my first ever visa application was a Partner visa for my wife who is from North Asia (and yes, we do specialise in Spouse/Partner Visas as well as Family and Child visas ... J). We also work for skilled migrants seeking Permanent and Temporary visas, Small and Medium enterprises seeking short and long term skilled worker solutions and students seeking study and post study options. As you can see, the pathway to Australia is quite diversified. And, Pathway Planning is very much what we
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Welcome to our first edition of MMA News A message from the Director, Filippo Pellegrino
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do from the very first day we meet you. Now, this 1st edition takes a close look at the Department of Immigration’s new Form 80 Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment (or as we affectionately refer to it – the history of your life and your family!). This is a key form that the Department uses to gather information about an applicant and assess them in a range of ways. We explore some of the possible scenarios, which we feel are of concern and the additional stress and burden these places on applicants. There are other concerns especially with genuine errors and omissions and how these may be interpreted against the wide reaching Public Interest Criteria 4020.
In following additions, we’ll look at various other topics and processes and how to look at visa options for creating pathways for your future. Welcome and thanks for reading our 1st Edition
Filippo Pellegrino BA(Hons), Dip.Ed MBA GCMLaw Managing Director and Senior Migration Agent
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Modern Migration Australia staff member, Shota Hitomi, is currently studying a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law at Murdoch University, after completing a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Asian Studies. Shota also holds a Graduate Certificate in Chinese Law and has a strong interest in Australian-‐Asian relations.
Shota is from a Japanese background, and having studied at a Japanese university for twelve months, he is fluent in
Japanese. Shota is also undertaking casual studies in Mandarin.
Shota has worked at various law firms whilst studying his law degree and has experience in commercial and family law. Having come from a migrant family and wanting to combine his expertise in law and Asian studies, Shota has decided to pursue a career in migration upon completing his studies.
Shota hopes to practice as a registered migration agent when he graduates in June 2014.
STAFF PROFILE
Introducing Shota Hitomi
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Our services: • Resume/ CV assessments • Preparation of visa
applications for all major visa subclasses
• Migration advice • Advice on the SkillSelect
process for General Skilled Visa Applications
• Full visa application service
• Preparation and submission of Migration Review Tribunal and Ministerial Appeals.
• Job search and job referral for Employer Nominated and Sponsored Visas.
• Relocation and settlement services
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The changes to the personal particulars for
assessment form, otherwise known as Form 80, is causing a stir in the migration industry. Form 80 requires applicants to disclose ‘privacy information,’ which includes: previous employment history, places of domicile, previous education and travel history. Under the changes, clients are obligated to provide the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIPB) with their entire employment and education history. In addition to this, clients must also provide thirty years of addresses and travel history. Given, these onerous requirements, which clients often fail to satisfy, it is with little wonder that the amendments have been met with criticism.
Without doubt, the new Form 80 has created an unnecessary burden on clients. At Modern Migration
Australia, many of our clients have had difficulty meeting the rigorous requirement of providing an excessive amount of detail, covering their entire life. It is near impossible for some clients to recall where they lived as an infant or child, and in many cases
records do not exist. For European clients especially, it is difficult to evidence where they have travelled over the last thirty years, as they have lived in a ‘borderless’ environment’.
The unreasonable changes have sparked high-‐level discussion between the DIBP
and Migration Industry bodies. The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA), through its National President, has engaged with the DIBP in rigorous discussion. Following these discussions, the MIA also claimed “it may not have been DIBP’s choice that the changes were made [to form 80].” It remains to be confirmed who or which body is then responsible for the changes. What the MIA did confirm is; they have received “many, many Member complaints”-‐ including ours.
Feature Article
The New Form 80: More Information, Less Sense
“many, many member complaints”
MIA representative
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In early April, the DIBP finally responded to the MIA’s enquiries. In a fairly ambiguous statement, the DIBP claimed the changes were to establish client identity and character, in an effort to combat identity fraud and transnational crime. The DIBP also stated the previous Form 80 failed to articulate the address history requirement and incomplete information led to delays in processing. This response by the DIBP reveals a complete lack of understanding of the difficulty Form 80 imposes on clients, and its excessive requirements.
In addition to the industry backlash, Form 80 is being questioned at other levels. The Migration Review Tribunal has demonstrated a level of disregard towards the Form 80 requirements. In one particular case, an application for a Subclass 309 visa failed because of a lack of sufficient detail given by the applicant, in an earlier, less onerous version of Form 80. However, the Tribunal found a failure to comply with Form 80 does not necessarily result in a failure by the applicant to satisfy the character test prescribed by the Migration Act 1958. Thereby, a decision to reject a visa on the grounds that Form 80 has not been complied with is seemingly redundant if the character test has already been satisfied.
At Modern Migration Australia we have been assisting clients, who, for a range of reasons, cannot recall or access their life history, to provide alternative declarations in support of their personal information. The use of declarations is becoming industry practice and begs the question, what purpose do the rigorous Form 80 requirements
actually serve? Particularly because the legislated character test can still be satisfied, even when all of the information required by Form 80 is not provided.
The rationale behind the Form 80 amendments is not entirely clear, but what is clear is the discontent it has generated. The Government, and in turn, the DIBP are creating hurdles for clients, however they can generally be circumvented through declarations. The industry waits, with bated breath, to see if the Government responds to the criticism of the arduous and wholly unnecessary amendments. In the mean time we will continue to assist clients with their options.
If you, or someone you know, if having difficulty with Form 80 or visa applications in general, please call us on +61 65557718.
Our new office on Adelaide Terrace in Perth
Do you have a migration story you would like to share in our
newsletter? Is there an issue you would
like us to address in our next edition?
Email us on: [email protected]
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Modern Migration Australia wishes all of our Clients, Supporters and Colleagues
A
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Photo Credits Page 2: The Herald Sun, 08 February 2011 [accessed at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/many-‐hands-‐shape-‐us-‐all/story-‐e6frfhqf-‐1226001862932]; Good WP [accessed at http://www.goodwp.com/animals/26444-‐australia-‐kangaroo-‐sunset-‐sea-‐beach-‐jump-‐sun.html] Page 3: Tami Chappell/Reuters, published in The Atlantic [accessed at http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/07/your-‐airport-‐is-‐a-‐petri-‐dish/260228/] Page 4: The data recovery blog [accessed at http://www.thedatarecoveryblog.com/2013/02/18/exchange-‐migrations-‐got-‐you-‐down/]
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Modern Migration Australia Pty Ltd.
© Modern Migration Australia Pty Ltd
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