Australian Immigration News 13th July. How DOHA misled visa applicants on Partner Points for years!

Summary

In this episode of Australian Immigration News, KL Conrad discusses the problematic partner skills points for visa applications, highlighting the confusion and miscommunication from the Department of Immigration. Many applicants are facing refusals due to getting married after applying, based on outdated information. The episode features Shamal, an IT professional, who shares his frustrating experience with the Department's inconsistent advice, which could lead to his visa application refusal. The show also covers Western Australia's expanded Dharma program and the potential impact of the recent AGAP disaster on immigration law.

Takeaways

• 📜 The partner skills points issue has led to numerous visa refusals for applicants who got married after applying on or after November 16, 2019.
• 🤔 Miscommunication from the immigration department has caused confusion, as they previously assured applicants that marriage would not affect their application status.
• 🔍 The department's website had misleading information stating that all points criteria, including partner points, were assessed at the time of invitation, which was later corrected.
• ❗ The department quietly updated their webpage after a complaint was lodged, adding a clarification about the assessment of partner skills at the time of decision, not invitation.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A case example is highlighted where a visa applicant and their family were negatively impacted by the outdated information, leading to a refusal of their application.
• 💼 Shamal, an IT professional sponsored by the Victorian government, shares his experience of being misinformed about the impact of marriage on his visa application.
• 📞 Shamal's attempts to clarify the situation with the department were met with inconsistent responses, reflecting the ongoing confusion around the partner points criteria.
• 🚫 The department's lack of transparency and flexibility is criticized, with applicants being penalized for entering into relationships.
• 📝 A reminder is given about the importance of ensuring claimed points on an Expression of Interest are met at the time of case officer assessment to avoid automatic refusal.
• 🌐 Western Australia has expanded its Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) to include Metropolitan Perth, offering a wider range of occupations for potential sponsors.
• 🤝 The DAMA program requires finding an employer sponsor, which can be challenging, but offers a pathway to permanent residency for eligible visa holders.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video script related to Australian immigration?

The main issue discussed is the problem with the partner skills points in the immigration points test, which has led to many people being refused their visa applications for the 491, 190, and 189 visas due to changes in their marital status after applying.

What was the advice given by the immigration department on their inquiry line regarding marriage and visa applications?

The immigration department advised that residency applications would not be affected if applicants got married, which was later found to be incorrect for partner skills points.

What was the misleading information on the Department's webpage prior to the complaint lodged by Australian Immigration Law Services?

The webpage stated that all points criteria, including partner points, were assessed at the time of invitation, which was not the case for partner skills points.

What was the correction made to the Department's webpage after the complaint?

The webpage was updated to clarify that the applicant must satisfy most criteria specified in the points test at the time of invitation, with an asterisk noting that partner skills are assessed at the time of decision.

Why did the visa applicant who waited for more than 4 years for a case officer on their 189 Visa get a notice to comment with the intent to refuse the application?

The applicant got married after applying, which was initially told not to affect their visa application, but the Department later decided to refuse the application based on the outdated information regarding partner skills points.

What is the situation of Shamal, the IT professional from Melbourne, regarding his visa application?

Shamal applied for a 190 visa and was told by the Department that getting married would not affect his application. However, after learning about the potential refusal of his application due to the same issue of partner skills points, he is now facing uncertainty.

Why is the evaluation of partner skills points at the time of Visa Grant considered unfair by the applicants?

It is considered unfair because most other criteria are evaluated at the time of invitation, and the change in marital status should not affect the points already claimed at the time of invitation.

What is the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) program and what is new about it?

The DAMA program is an agreement that allows certain regions to have a tailored migration scheme. The new development is that Metropolitan Perth has been included as a DAMA region, expanding the list of occupations available for sponsorship.

What is the process for obtaining a 482 Visa under the DAMA program?

The process involves finding an employer to sponsor the applicant, who may need to apply for business approval under the DAMA system. After sponsorship, the applicant can apply for the 482 Visa, and later, for permanent residency.

What is the potential impact of the AGAP disaster on the immigration process?

The AGAP disaster refers to a legislative issue that may affect the immigration process. There are rumors that the Green Party may assist by trying to block the legislation, but confirmation is pending.

How can viewers of the Australian Immigration Law Services' YouTube channel report inappropriate or racist remarks?

Viewers can report such remarks by sending an email to the Australian Immigration Law Services, highlighting the comments that need to be deleted.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Misleading Information on Partner Points for Visa Applications

The first paragraph discusses the problematic issue of partner skills points in Australian immigration, highlighting the confusion and incorrect advice given by the immigration department. It explains that many applicants have been refused visas for the 491, 190, and 189 categories because they married after applying on or after November 16, 2019. The department's inconsistent information on their website has led to applicants being misled about the assessment timing of partner points, which has caused significant distress and delays for those affected.

05:00

🤔 Confusion and Miscommunication Over Partner Points Timing

In the second paragraph, the narrative focuses on the personal experience of a visa applicant named Shamal, who was misinformed by the immigration department about the impact of marriage on his visa application. Despite being told that his points calculation was fixed and that he could add his spouse to his ongoing application without issue, he later discovered that this was incorrect. The department's inconsistent communication and lack of transparency have left Shamal and others in a precarious situation, potentially facing visa refusal due to criteria evaluated at the time of visa grant rather than invitation.

10:02

📝 Updates on Western Australia's Dharma Program and Call for Transparency

The final paragraph shifts focus to the Western Australia Dharma program, noting its extension to include Metropolitan Perth and detailing the occupations available under this scheme. It emphasizes the need for finding an employer sponsor and the process involved. The paragraph also touches on the AGAP disaster and the potential for legislative blockage by the Green Party, though confirmation is pending. The script concludes with a reminder for viewers to report inappropriate comments on their YouTube channel and an invitation for those needing assistance to book a consultation.

Keywords

💡Australian Immigration

Australian Immigration refers to the process by which individuals become residents of Australia. In the video, it is the central theme as the host discusses various issues related to immigration policies and their impact on visa applicants. The script mentions 'Australian immigration news' and the problems faced by applicants, highlighting the importance of understanding immigration laws and procedures.

💡Partner Points

Partner Points are a component of the Australian immigration points test, which awards additional points to visa applicants based on their partner's skills and qualifications. The video discusses the 'disastrous problem with the partner skills points,' indicating issues with how these points are assessed and their impact on visa applications, particularly for those who got married after applying.

💡Skill Select

Skill Select is an online service that allows skilled workers to register their interest in migrating to Australia. The video mentions 'Skill Select' in the context of the points test and the issues arising from the assessment of partner points at the time of invitation versus the time of decision, which has led to confusion and visa refusals.

💡Visa Application

A Visa Application is the formal request made by individuals to enter or remain in a country for a specified purpose. The script discusses problems with visa applications for the 491, 190, and 189 visas, emphasizing the consequences of outdated information and incorrect advice provided by the immigration department.

💡Department of Home Affairs

The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian government body responsible for immigration and border control. In the video, the department is criticized for providing incorrect information about the assessment of partner points, leading to visa refusals and confusion among applicants.

💡Visa Refusal

Visa Refusal occurs when an application for a visa is denied by the relevant authorities. The video script mentions that many people have been refused their visa applications due to the misinterpretation of the partner points criteria, illustrating the serious implications of the department's errors.

💡Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA)

The Designated Area Migration Agreement is a program that allows employers in specific regions to sponsor skilled workers for particular occupations. The video discusses the extension of Western Australia's DAMA program to include Metropolitan Perth, offering more opportunities for skilled migration.

💡482 Visa

The 482 Visa is a temporary work visa in Australia that allows skilled workers to work in the country for an approved employer. The video mentions this visa as the most common pathway for those hoping to migrate through the DAMA program, highlighting its significance in the migration process.

💡Permanent Residency

Permanent Residency refers to a person's right to live and work in a country indefinitely. The script discusses the process of obtaining permanent residency through the 482 Visa and the DAMA program, emphasizing the importance of employer sponsorship.

💡Skill Assessment

Skill Assessment is the evaluation of an individual's skills and qualifications to determine if they meet the requirements for a particular occupation. The video mentions the importance of skill assessment for partners in the context of visa applications and the impact of not having a skill assessment on the points awarded.

💡Expression of Interest (EOI)

An Expression of Interest is a preliminary application indicating a person's intention to apply for a visa. In the video, the script discusses the importance of accurately claiming points in an EOI and the consequences of not meeting the claimed points during the case officer's assessment.

Highlights

KL Conrad discusses the issues with partner skills points in Australian immigration.

Hundreds of people are being refused their visa applications due to changes in marital status after application.

Immigration department's advice on marriage and visa applications has been misleading.

The department's website incorrectly stated that all points criteria are assessed at the time of invitation.

A complaint led to a modification of the department's webpage to clarify the assessment timing for partner skills.

A visa applicant's story illustrates the consequences of the department's inconsistent information.

The department ignored concerns about their website's misleading information and refused a visa application.

Shamal, an IT professional, shares his experience with the visa application process and its pitfalls.

Shamal's case shows the impact of outdated information on the Department's website on visa applicants.

The Department's inconsistent communication about when partner skills are assessed has caused confusion.

Shamal's story emphasizes the unfairness of penalizing applicants for entering into relationships.

Western Australia extends its Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) to include Metropolitan Perth.

The DAMA program offers an extensive list of occupations for sponsored visas.

The 482 Visa is the most common pathway for DAMA hopefuls to obtain permanent residency.

Rumors suggest the Green Party may block legislation affecting the AGAP disaster.

The possibility of a class action lawsuit is being explored in response to the AGAP issue.

The channel has a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate or racist remarks in the comments section.

Australian Immigration Law Services offers consultations for those needing assistance with their visa applications.

Transcripts

[Music]

hi I'm KL Conrad and Welcome to our

weekly edition of Australian immigration

news proudly brought to you by

Australian immigration law Services

right here in the heart of Sydney first

tonight let's cover the disastrous

problem with the partner skills points

and then I'll go on to outline the new

dmer of Western Australia the partner

points elocation has been a disaster in

the making for many years hundreds of

people are now being refused their Guild

Visa applications for the 491 190 and

189 visas simply because they got

married after they applied on the 16th

of November 2019 the current version of

the points test came into force over the

years the immigration department on

their inquiry line repeatedly told

people don't worry your residency

application won't be affected if you get

married clearly they were just reading

their own website when giving that

advice here is the depart man's web page

back in February of this year it had

been like this since November

2019 where it stated All Points criteria

are assessed at the time of invitation

of course this implicated that partner

points too was time of invitation

criteria however that was never the case

but the department kept spinning that

line recently they modified their Pages

after a complaint we lodged earlier in

the year now it states the applicant

must satisfy most criteria specified in

the points test at the time of

invitation yes that is true but they

fail to say it is only the partner

skills that is specified at the time of

decision all the rest are at the time of

invitation and then further down the

Department's web page this little Aster

X appeared with a explanation if your

marital status changes during the

processing of your Visa we may not award

you points for this item

we do not assess this item at the time

of imputation it took them over 4 years

to correct this mistake and why not put

this warning at the top of the page be

careful that your partner skills are

assessed at the time of decision not at

the time of invitation earlier this year

a Visa applicant came to us after

waiting for more than 4 years for a case

officer on their 189 Visa the department

asked the family to do Medicals twice

during this period originally the agent

who loded the application told them no

problems if you get married after you

apply it won't affect your visa

application so of course they did they

also started a family with two kids and

asked the department to add them to the

application with no idea what was coming

their way earlier this year the

department sent them a notice to comment

with the intent to refuse the

application so they came to our office

for help we responded to the case

officer and told the department all the

mistakes on their website that would

lead anyone to believe getting married

was assessed at the time of invitation

however they simply ignored our concerns

and simply refuse the application they

then quietly updated the web page

afterwards hoping no one would notice

their error if this Visa applicant had

known earlier they could have submitted

another 189 eii received another

invitation and lodged another 189 visa

application but no the department put

the application on hold for for more

than 4 years and then told them nothing

tonight we are speaking with shamal who

is another Visa applicant but faces the

same issue he applied more recently in

September

2023 but the outdated information was

still on the Department's website shamal

works as an IT professional in Melbourne

and was sponsored by the Victorian

government for his visa application

tonight he has decided to speak out on

the program to warn others not to fall

into this trap the Trap of Simply doing

what most people dream of getting

married I caught up with shemal earlier

in the

[Music]

week hi Jamal thanks for coming on the

program today much appreciated hi K

thanks for having me pleasure So today

we're talking about your bitter

experience with the Department regarding

partner points and how that's going to

affect you now with the the partner

points it is time of decision but

beforehand the immigration told you

another story so would you like to tell

us what's happened yeah um I launched my

uh 190 visa application last October uh

when I got nominated from Victoria and

at the time I was single uh but my

wedding has already been planned out to

be held on December and after getting

married I informed the department about

my uh change in circumstances and they

said uh you don't have to worry about

anything and you could even add your

spouse to your ongoing visa application

uh which I did and they said that they

they asked me about specifically whether

this is at the time of uh I submitted my

Roi or whether this is at the time of uh

I got the nomination so what they said

was my points calculation is already

been done and it is fixed uh you don't

have to worry about anything uh you just

submit this form 1436 adding your spouse

to your existing visa application

because I saw uh there were comments on

that it would be affected and I even

clarified uh because when I when I

received the invitation I was single and

I got 10 points but after getting

married I lose five points for because

my partner uh does not have the skill

assessment so I just was I was curious

about about whether I would have to do

anything or whether it would become a

problem for my existing visa application

but they said no uh there is no problem

you could add your spouse to my ongoing

visa application and once and that was

before you got married so you checked

with the Department before you got

married just to be sure that that was

okay I did check with them uh then at

that time also it was the same case uh

and even after I got married I informed

the department and told me about my uh

situation because I just want to clarify

whether things have changed or not but

uh even when I call so I called the

department twice regarding this and it

was the same information that was given

to me so I was all right then I just add

my spouse to my ongoing Vis application

and stay put until the result comes back

yeah but uh after learning that there

could be an impact and I was not the

truth I was surprised yeah so you're

aware now that um given your

circumstances it's highly likely your

visa application will be refused because

already many people have been refused

before you yes uh after learning that uh

it would be refused I again called the

department to see what their response

was and I was surprised that now they

telling me a different story because now

they are saying that I should be waiting

until a case officer gets back to me and

normally the points would be checked at

the time of Visa Grant so it's like two

different stories that I've been told

I'm very surprised what they are telling

me at that time and had you known this

before you lodged your application what

would you have done differently yes um

it's really frustrating what the

department does here because as an

applicant if I want to apply for

permanent residency I would be

definitely checking out the points table

on the department's website to see what

are the criteria that out there and how

many points that I would be getting um

right now it's taking at least an year

for the Department to process 190 visa

application and the points that you get

for most of the criteria do change over

time um so why partner skills are being

evaluated at the time of Visa Grant

obviously uh age cannot be evaluated at

the time of Visa Grant so if you enter

into a relationship why that is being

checked at the time of Visa Grant uh if

I had known that earlier I would have

never launched a visa application uh and

if you go to the Department's website

now you would see that under partner

skills section they have added a special

Clause saying that it is evaluated at

the Visa Grant but it was never

mentioned earlier and even when I

submitted my Visa application there was

no warning about it in living Melbourne

website you have a statement but that is

again related to uh submitting Roi but

not after you submit your visa

application so it's really sad what they

do to you and it's really unfair uh

because as the primary applicant I'm

being penalized for entering into a

relationship that's that's so unfair

yeah and it's it's crazy that uh now

they're talking about oh you know

perhaps Partners who have skills should

be given more points so we have this

sort of

reversal sort of

situation and the other problem is that

you were sponsored by Victoria for one

190 you could have waited simply got

married and then put in your

registration of Interest isn't it yes

definitely I would have waited if I

known that there could be an impact on

this but uh I I didn't know about

anything I I got the invitation from

Victoria and I launched my Visa

application and then even when I call

the department they didn't say anything

about it but now I have come to known

that that there could be an impact yeah

and the other problem is that Victoria's

already you've got a good job in it

field in Victoria so you're eligible for

sponsorship but in reality Victoria may

not sponsor you again because you've

already taken one of their places yes

it's it's really sad because I didn't

know that there would be an outcome like

this uh because if I stayed put and if I

got my spouse skills assessment I would

have submitted the ROI this year and

would be nominated again because of the

points and everything but yeah it's

really unfortunate that they have

certain rules that you don't know um I

mean it can be a complex process but I

think the department should let know the

people what's happening that the

transparency is not there I believe

let's hope the department can uh you

know be flexible on this issue and show

some common sense there's still time in

relation to your application but we are

aware they've already refused many

applications already um what they would

do about those I'm not sure but fingers

crossed for you and thanks for coming on

the show at least we can tell people to

be weary and what not to do thank you so

much SC for giving me the opportunity so

take care and let us know how you go

with communication with the Department L

Ro sure we'll

do we thank shamal for his bravery in

speaking out about his application he

knows that the application's future

looks bleak but he agreed to the

interview to warn others not to make the

same mistake hopefully he will receive

another Visa invitation in the near

future and Lodge the application again

and a quick reminder for everybody when

you claim points on your expression of

interest and when you you get a case

officer to assess those points if you do

not reach the points that you have

claimed your application gets

automatically refused amongst all the

important Law changes on the 1st of July

we forgot to mention that Western

Australia has considerably extended its

designated area migration agreement

program known as Dharma the good news is

that the extended program includes now

Metropolitan Perth as a Dharma region

when you click on the Western Australian

Dharma occupation filter on their

website like this choosing Perth as the

location and perhaps c482 Visa which is

the most common you will see this

extensive list of occupations available

now the Dharma program requires finding

an employer to sponsor you which is the

hard part and if they haven't got

business approval yet they will have to

apply to get approved under this dhma

system it's not an easy process but it

does exist and many people do get get

sponsored the 482 Visa is the most

common pathway for the Dharma hopefuls

and then later 3 years for Perth and 2

years a regional wa you can be sponsored

for PR and like all 482 visa to PR

process you still need the employer to

sponsor you to obtain permanent

residency when you click on the

individual occupations you can find what

concessions are available such as age

usually up to 55 now take Chef here as

an example and you can read the details

now regarding the for AG agap disaster

there have been many rumors that the

green party May yet assist by trying to

block the legislation but I have not

been able to get confirmation on this as

yet if any of our viewers know something

concrete then please let us all know the

possibility of a class action takes time

to discuss with the big firms that

handle such a process so please stand by

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[Music]