The Immigration SA site has been rebranded.  The new address is http://www.migration.sa.gov.au .  It is a user friendly website for anyone considering migration to South Australia as a Skilled Worker or Business Migrant.

The new site also states:

Immigration SA would like to advise clients who are planning to apply for sponsorship under the State Sponsored (Permanent) or State Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visas that these Lists are being revised and will be published in their entirety on 1 January 2009 on this website.

Immigration SA would encourage clients who would like to be considered for sponsorship to lodge a valid online application prior to 31 December 2008 as we are unable to advise at this stage which occupations may be affected.

Any occupation that is not on one of the revised lists from 1 January 2009, will not be considered for sponsorship.

It’s important that anyone intending to apply based on the current list of occupations ensure that they lodge their application by 31 December 2008.

Currently, one Aussie dollar is approximately 0.508 euros.

The Australian Reserve Bank is having to defend the Aussie dollar as best it can as a response to the current market pressures. 

To the potential migrant from the Euro zone, its good news.  The euro is very strong against the dollar.  In a conversation with a client last week, like to other property sellers, they may have to sell their Irish home at a reduced price given the downturn in the property market however the upside is they could look forward to affording a very nice family home for themselves in Tasmania, the Australian state they are migrating to.

Apart from the process of obtaining the acutal visa that will facilitate living in Australia, the second biggest concern for a migrant is the process of selling off assets to fund the eventual move to Australia.  Timing is everything.  The Department of Immigration’s strongly advises visa applicants never to dispose of any assets until they have the visa in hand, and as a migrationa agent, I fully support this recommendation.  However, in my experience, I’ve come to know of people who despite the advice have gone ahead and sold houses and moved into rental property while awaiting a decision on their visa application. The decision to sell mainly being based on receiving a good offer for the property and not wanting to pass up the opportunity to sell for a good price…understandable despite the good advice from their agent or the Department.

Any migrant, whether a business or skilled migrant, no matter what stage they are at in the visa application, needs to be aware of what is happening with the Australian dollar, what the trends are as well as any predictions about what its going to do in the future and where its stands in relation to their home currency.

There can be a high cost to transferring money to Australia, particular large amounts.  There are banks and money transfer companies all vying for a piece of the migrant fund pie.  So there is lots of competition to win the client.

Here a hints when planning out a strategy balancing the act of applying for a visa and eventual move to Australia:-

1. Start your visa application process, most skilled and business visas can take up to 12 months

In the meantime…..

2. Each month, make some time to read some Australian newspapers, particularly finance and property section.  Print off material and start a file so it’s easy for you to compare changes.  You can use this time to also research possible settlement locations, schools for the kids.

3.  Open up an Australian bank account.  The Commonwealth Bank and the Westpac Bank have Migrant banking sections set up in London to facilitate this process.  You don’t have to wait until you get to Australia to open an account.  You may consider transferring small amounts to the account to start building up a deposit.

4. Make an appointment to speak with a Financial Advisor at your bank, other banks and money transfer companies to understand how they can facilitate you moving money to Australia and what are the likely costs.  Ask them for their opinions about current trends in the Aussie dollar and how it compares with the local currency.  Ask them for recommendations if you want about when they think is the best time to transfer money.  You don’t have to follow the suggestion but its a good way to gage if they know what they are talking about.  They are supposed to be the experts and should offer their opinions and suggestions confidently.

5.  If you are going to be selling property to fund your move to Australia, speak to 2 or 3 experienced estate agent in your area.  The point of the exercise is to establish what the property trends are, this will help you form your own expectations about what you can expect your property to be sold for in the coming months.  Again ask for opinons and recommendation of the estate agent. 

6. Once your visa is approved, revisit points 3 and 4 choosing the agent/advisor that you found to be well-informed and cooperative.  Plan an actual schedule around your intended departure date and refer to this in your discussions with them.  Obviously the sale of your house will determine when you will be in a position to transfer your funds, hopefully the prevailing market conditions will favour you.

All the Best,

Mege Dalton

Anyway enough TV talk, basically the show’s name inspired the title of this post.

For Business owners, managers and executives of SMEs out there, UK and Ireland are in recession with the rest of Europe to follow if the recent EU forecasts are correct.  In all the talk about what’s going to help the economy recover, I’ve been particularly interested in the view that SMEs are the backbone of the economy and need to be supported to help deal with the crisis.

Overall its a really positive message but after thinking more about it, I wondered whether if you were a business owner would you really be thinking about how your business was going to help end the recession, or more concerned with battoning down the hatches in your business because the equivalent of the hurricane season is looming, and it was going to be a long season.  I think my local butcher is more focused on selling as many pork chops as he did before October, and rightfully so. 

The challenge for business owners is managing the difficult task of coming up with a plan to either survive the crisis or a plan to get out.  Either way, lacking an action plan may attract very negative outcome for a business.  Planning for sustainable economic downturn is priority, particularly managing cashflow because businesses don’t go under for lack of profitability. They go under for lack of cash. Thererfore, apart from reducing cost, SMEs need to optimize incomings and plan outgoings.

Alternatively, making a plan to exit may be more attractive to other business owners than slugging it out, again the same EU forecasts say 2010 is when the economy should flip back into growth phase.   A business owner with enough cash reserves to slow business down at home (selling a business now could be problematic), and perhaps explore a new overseas market, should consider Australia.  By all reports the Australian economy is good with household finances strong.  The business visa application process won’t involve putting your hands into rodent or insect infested holds like the TV show but it can incite fear in a lot of people not familiar with the complex process.

The sub class 163 Sponsored Business Owner visa is the most popular choice of visa for business migrants around the world and it accounts for about 90% of business visa applications made to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. The lower financial threshold requirements make it a popular category for small to medium size business owners.

163 Visa requirements:-

• You are less than 55 years or age, or you are proposing to participate in a business activity which will be of exceptional economic benefit
• You owned a business which had turnover of at least A$300,000 for 2 out of
  the last 4 financial years and in those 2 years you managed the business on a day to day basis
• You have a successful business background.
• Your net asset level is at least A$250,000 plus an additional amount for your
  settlement costs in Australia
• You have not been engaged in a business where the provision of professional, technical or trade services took up more than 50 per cent of your time
• You have a genuine commitment to engage in business activities in Australia and has demonstrate that Australia will benefit economically from the proposed business or investment
• State sponsorship approval

Whether the business owner chooses to stay put or exit will be up to the particular person.  Either way, here are some tips to manage a business in an economic downturn by Dennis Howlett (Financial Crisis Impact on Small Business/Insight Community), and if you want some idea about a business visa for Australia, please send me an email.

1. Move routine commmunications to email
2. Bank online for both payments and receipts
3. Bill electronically
4. At an operational level you should be scrutinizing every expense or overhead line item, looking for areas of waste or opportunities to lower cost
5. Negotiate new terms for property leases, offering longer terms at a reduced rate.
6. Consider switching to homeworking for staff and so release property requirements but ensure that communications will not be impeded.
7. Consider the extent to which you can operate hot desking. 
8. Negotiate or switch communications carriers ensuring that each category (voice, mobile and data is optimized for your consumption levels)
9. Review communications consumption with each person who uses company cell phones to determine the best patterns of use commensurate with different levels of doing business.
10. Where possible, switch to low energy lighting, reviewing the cost/benefit of acquiring low energy light bulbs and their ongoing consumption cost. Obtain guidance on this from your energy provider and request an energy audit.
11. Consider the cost impact of reducing the amount of energy you consume. Examples might be reviewing the times of day when heating is used and the temperatures at which it is triggered to come on and off.
12. Endeavor to eliminate printed material and associated postage. You won’t get rid of it all but you can almost certainly make material savings. Review the potential to use online storage services such as Google or Boxes.net
13. Defer the purchase of new printers, concentrate on using laser printers rather than inkjet printers. Inkjet ink costs are astronomical but can be significantly reduced by using refillable cartridge services.
14. Consider the frequency of janitorial services. Does the office really need cleaning every night? Might staff at least partially fulfill that service?
15. Renegotiate bank service charges. Moving to electronic funds collection and disbursement should reduce costs. Right now, your bank will be more concerned with keeping your business and will be disposed to talking about fees.
16. Review all forms of advertising and consider alternative methods of communicating your message. If your company doesn’t have one, invest in a blog as a way of communicating rather than continuing to send fliers and other promotional material. Examine whether online advertising might be better for your class of business.   
17. Eliminate all un-necessary travel and ensure that travel costs are optimized.

Good luck!

Mege Dalton

Many UK business migrants would be relying upon the sale proceeds of their family home to provide both the business investment as well as settlment funds required to make the move and establish themselves in Australia.

The continuing decrease in UK property prices means that the confidence of many business migrants is slowly being chipped away as they had hoped a good sale price would facilitate their move to Australia.

For those who are in the process of applying and are holding back on lodging a visa application, its important to be aware that the Australian government can change visa requirements from time to time.  Your eligibility is not guaranteed, if you choose to wait and the immigration rules change and you become ineligible than unfortunately your window of opportunity has closed.  Its important to remember that most of the provisional business visas are granted for 4 years, once granted, the visa holder is not obligated to move permanently straight away.  For many UK migrants, it may take up to 18 months to settle their affairs at home before leaving for Australia.  The visa period allows for this, and this effectively means that some business migrants could delay their move.  No doubt the the property market will continue posing significant issues into 2009, perhaps there is some solace for visa holders that they do not have to make the big move just yet but the clock is ticking.

The Irish have been emigrating to Australia since the 1800s, first on an involuntary basis, and then seeking refuge in the 1980s before the Celtic Tiger when times were bleak.  Post Celtic Tiger, with healthier bank balances, many Irish have chosen Australia as holiday destinations. 

Thousands of Irish Working Holiday makers (under 30s), flock to Australia  each year to realise dreams of sightseeing, partying, and a little bit of work to fundraise for the good times.  In 2007, 17,000 Irish working holiday makers visited Australia.  It’s many of these individuals who eventually return to Ireland to begin or resume their careers, marry and settle down then decide that they want to emigrate to Australia permanently.

Given the financial crisis, and growing concern over the current Government’s ability to steer Ireland through, more Irish may consider moving to Australia.   Perhaps, its good time to leave for many.

Although Australia is not excluded from the effects of the World economic downturn, as a place to live it has quite a few advantages over Ireland, the sunshine and warmer climate for one, lower cost of living, better employment opportunities, particularly if you are one of the lucky ones who has a skilled occupation on the demand list, Australian will welcome you with open arms.  Irish trademen, Computing Professionals, Medical professionals Australian wants and needs YOU!

Irish business migrants are also being welcomed by many Australian states who want to attract investment and successful business people to their Australian cities and towns.  In fact, many state governments plan marketing campaigns over in Ireland, UK and rest of Europe to promote their particular State to potential business migrants. 

Representatives from the Western Australian government will be visiting London to update the migration agent community about its state sponsorship support and assistance for skilled business and investor retirement visa applicants.  Its State Migration Centre at the Small Business Development Corporation in Perth will be available to answer questions from migration agents on the migration programme as well as providing information kits on living, working and setting up a business in Western Australia.

The point of the exercise being that migration agents will be a conduit of current information to the clients they act for and who are thinking of making Western Australia home in the future.

Despite recession. there will be Irish business owners/entrepreneurs who continue making profit and maintaining their businesses.  These are the type of business migrant, Australia would love to have.  Risk takers with successful business background and money willing to give it a go Down Under.

Currently, there are 4 Australian registered migration agents based in Ireland.  For those wanting to realise their dreams of moving to Australia, an Australian visa is a compulsory requirement.  Seeking visa advice from a registered migration agent is recommended as a means of confirming eligibility for the particular visa as well as understanding the process of applying for the visa.  Registered migration agents are regulated by the professional body the Migration Agents Registration Authority www.themara.com.au and must conduct themselves with the agent client relationship to the standards set out by the Code of Conduct.  Individuals can make complaints again an agent who they feel has acted unprofessionally or mishandled their visa application.

Whatever the state of the economy, the fact is that there will be a continuous Irish emigration to Australia.  The level of emigration will be directly linked to how bad its gets here at home.  Once the eveyday Irish person has managed to digest the recent budget and other economic measures, applied them to their own personal situation, we may see a mass exodus…only time will tell.

Now a business migrant making a sponsorship application will only need to provide a description of the intended business activity.

Categories covered by this new change include state sponsorship applications for business owners (sub class 163), senior managers (sub class 163, senior executives (sub class 164) and investors (sub class 165). 

A sample of the new application forms are availabe online at www.migration.wa.gov.au.  WA Migration advises that processing of the simplified forms will be much faster.

 Business Skills Regulation Changes

(From DIAC website)

On 9 August 2008, the regulations relating to Business Skills visas will be amended.

Provisional Visas

Changes

1. Subsequent and Secondary Applications from Family Members of Class UR visa holders - facilitate members of the family unit of persons who hold a Business Skills (Provisional) (Class UR) visa to apply separately for a visa of the same visa class.
   Affected Visas:
   Subclasses 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165
2. Class UR - Twelve Months De-facto Relationship Requirement - require persons who seek to satisfy the secondary criteria for a Business Skills (Provisional) (Class UR) visa on the basis of being in a de facto relationship, to be in that relationship for at least 12 months.
   Affected Visas:
   Subclasses 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165

Provisional and Residence

Change

Sponsorship Requirements - clarify that a criterion for grant of a sponsored Business Skills visa is that applicants seeking to satisfy the primary criteria have in fact been sponsored and that this sponsorship has not been withdrawn at time of decision.
Affected Visas:
Subclasses 132, 163, 164, 165, 892, 893

Residence Visas

Changes

1. Employee Requirements – Residence Visas - allow applicants to satisfy minimum staffing level requirements for the grant of an Established Business (Residence) (Class BH) visa and a Business Skills (Residence) (Class DF) visa when the total number of hours of employment provided over the relevant period is at least equivalent to the total number of hours that would be worked by the specified number of full-time employees.
   Affected Visas:
   Subclasses 845, 846, 890, 892
2. Bridging Visas and Residency Requirements - allow applicants seeking to satisfy the time spent in Australia requirement for an Established Business (Residence) (Class BH) visa and a Business Skills (Residence) (Class DF) visa, to count time spent on certain bridging visas granted following a valid application for a Subclass 457 (Business) (Long Stay) visa on the basis of being an independent executive.
   Affected Visas:
   Subclasses 845, 892
3. Time in Australia Requirements - allow business owners to travel overseas for regular short periods without this affecting their ability to satisfy the time spent in Australia criterion in an application for a Subclass 845 - Established Business in Australia visa.
   Affected Visas:
   Subclass 845
4. Source of Assets - clarify that the minimum asset requirements in the time of application or time of decision criteria for an Established Business in Australia (Residence) (Class BH) visa and a Business Skills (Residence) (Class DF) visa, must be met using assets that have been lawfully acquired.
   Affected Visas:
   Subclasses 845, 846, 890, 892

Additional information will be available on the departmental website on 9 August 2008

Maybe he will start a trend, other celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein will think of Australia as a nice place to retire with all their hard earned cash and celebrity chef status.

Emigrating to Australia definitely not a new trend for the every day pom, thousands apply for visas each year before making a permanent move to Australia for a more relaxed lifestyle and better climate.