Covid-19 Concession For Family And General Skilled Migration Visa 2021
The Department of Home Affairs recently announced an updated COVID-19 Concession for Family and General Skilled Migration on 12 February 2021. The Department of Home Affairs has been commencing COVID-19 Concessions since 19 September 2020 for certain Australian visa holders impacted by the Pandemic.
The COVID-19 Concessions help Australian visa holders continue on their visa pathway, especially for you who have been disadvantaged by the border closures, business restrictions or the economic downturn. The COVID-19 Concession is an interim arrangement, so once the Pandemic situation gets better, the Concessions will no longer apply.
What are the COVID-19 Concessions for Family and General Skilled Migration?
Temporary COVID-19 Concession for Family Migration
Some visa subclasses in Family Migration require applicants to be outside Australia at the time of visa grant. The COVID-19 Travel restrictions affect visa applicants, especially visa applicants who have come to Australia and are unable to leave Australia. Due to the situation, the Department of Home Affairs implements COVID-19 Concession to ease the visa application process.
COVID-19 Concession for Partner and Child Visa
The Department of Home Affairs announced changes to come into effect on 27 February 2021 for some Partner and Child visas. The changes will allow offshore Partner and Child visa applicants to be granted the visa while the visa applicant is in Australia. Please note that this temporary Concession is for certain visa applicants in Australia and cannot travel offshore to be granted the visa due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The concessions will apply to eligible applicants for the following Partner and Child Visa subclasses:
- Child (subclass 101) visa
- Adoption (subclass 102) visa
- Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa
- Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa
- Partner (subclass 309) visa
COVID-19 Concession for Parent Visa
Another concession will also come into effect on 24 March 2021 for eligible Parent visa applicants. The concessions will allow Parent visa applicants to be granted the visa while in Australia. The Concession will apply to the following visa subclasses:
- Parent (subclass 103) visa
- Contributory Parent (subclass 173) visa
- Contributory Parent (subclass 143) visa
The amendments will not impact the current processing time frames for Parent visa applications. The Department of Home Affairs will give the visa applicants additional time to travel safely or until the visa can be granted while the visa applicants are in Australia. The situation is applicable if they have been advised that they need to be outside Australia for the visa to be granted, but could not do so due to travel restrictions.
Read more about the COVID-19 Concession for Family Migration here.
Temporary COVID-19 Concessions for General Skilled and Business Migration Program
The Department of Home Affairs also updated COVID-19 Concession for some General Skilled and Business Migration Visa subclasses. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, some General Skilled and Business Migration Program applicants have difficulties continuing their visa pathways outside Australia. The COVID-19 Concession is implemented in hope to ease the visa applicants.
COVID-19 Concessions for Temporary Graduate Visa
The COVID-19 Concessions for Temporary Graduate visa have been granted to all Temporary Graduate visa streams. The concessions allow the eligible visa applicants to lodge and be granted the visa while the visa applicants are outside Australia. The Concession is applicable for those impacted by the COVID-19 Travel Restriction and cannot enter Australia at the moment.
Please be noted that you must hold or have held a Student visa in the past 12 months to apply for the visa offshore.
COVID-19 Concessions for Skilled Regional Visa
The Department of Home Affairs announced COVID-19 Concession for onshore and offshore Skilled Regional (subclass 887) visa.
The applicants outside Australia can apply for and be granted the visa while outside Australia during the COVID-19 Concession period. The offshore applicants will also be given access to shorter employment and residency requirements during the concession period. The details for the shorter employment and residency requirements are:
[fusion_table fusion_table_type=”1″ fusion_table_rows=”” fusion_table_columns=”” hide_on_mobile=”medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]
| No | Requirement Before Concession Period | Requirement During Concession Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 months of full-time work in a specified regional area | 9 months of full-time work in a specified regional area |
| 2 | 24 months residence in a specified regional area | 18 months residence in a specified regional area |
[/fusion_table]
[fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]
| No | Requirement Before Concession Period | Requirement During Concession Period |
| 1 | 12 months of full-time work in a specified regional area | 9 months of full-time work in a specified regional area |
| 2 | 24 months residence in a specified regional area | 18 months residence in a specified regional area |
[/fusion_text]
Meanwhile, they will still be required to meet the 2 years of residence requirement for the onshore applicants. However, a concession for the employment requirement will be applicable. The details for the employment and residency requirements during COVID-19 Concession period are:
[fusion_table fusion_table_type=”1″ fusion_table_rows=”” fusion_table_columns=”” hide_on_mobile=”medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]
| No | Requirement Before Concession Period | Requirement During Concession Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 months of full-time work in a specified regional area | 9 months of full-time work in a specified regional area |
| 2 | 24 months residence in a specified regional area | 24 months residence in a specified regional area |
[/fusion_table]
[fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]
| No | Requirement Before Concession Period | Requirement During Concession Period |
| 1 | 12 months of full-time work in a specified regional area | 9 months of full-time work in a specified regional area |
| 2 | 24 months residence in a specified regional area | 24 months residence in a specified regional area |
[/fusion_text]
Read more about the COVID-19 Concession for visa 887 applicants here
COVID-19 Concession for Business Innovation Visa
Before the COVID-19 Concession period, Business Innovation (subclass 888) visa applicants must have been physically present in Australia for at least 1 year in the 2 years immediately before applying for the visa.
However, due to the Pandemic, the Department of Home Affairs introduced COVID-19 Concession, which counts the time that visa applicants spend overseas as time spent in Australia. To be eligible for this Concession, the visa applicant must hold one of the following Business Innovation and Investment (subclass 188) visa stream:
- Business Innovation Stream
- Business Innovation Extension Stream
If the visa applicants held Business Innovation and Investment (subclass 188) Business Innovation Stream, they must be sure that the visa has been granted on or before 30 June 2019.
Find more information about the Business Migration Program in Queensland here.
What are the impacts of COVID-19 Concession for Family and General Skilled Migration Program applicants?
The purpose of COVID-19 Concession is to ease visa applicants who are affected by the Pandemic.
It is a relief for Family Migration program applicants who are stuck in Australia because the Concession introduced by the Department will allow them to stay in Australia with their loved ones while waiting for the visa grant.
Additionally, this would also enable Business and General Skilled Migration program applicants to meet the requirements a bit easier to continue with their visa pathways.
Still not sure how it will affect you? Speak to us! We are here to help!
We understand that applying for a visa to Australia is certainly very complicated. It is even more challenging during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our visa specialists at ONEderland Consulting will help you assess your visa options. We have a 98% success rate and one of the most highly recommended migration agents in Australia. Read our 4.9* score customer reviews.
We are complex visa specialists. As registered Australian migration agents with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA), we are regulated in our professional practice and bound by the profession’s Code of Conduct issued by the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
Take the first leap and get in touch with us. Our migration agents and our team are professional and honest. Our team members are also able to speak in various languages such as Mandarin/ Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, Japanese, Polish, German, and Russian.
Contact us through email at [email protected] or via phone on 1300 827 159. Alternatively, you may book your consultation online and it is 100% refundable if you become our client.
