It has been said that nothing is permanent but change. As such, you are receiving this message because we want you to know of an important change – we are moving.
Our new office address effective from 23 March 2015 is:
Address: Level 3
49 York Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Our telephone, facsimile and emails remain unchanged. We have also redirected our mail to our new address.
Our new office is approximately 400 metres from where we are currently located and much closer to Wynyard station.
The office is located opposite Wynyard Park and is a short walk from both train and bus services. There is also a Wilson car park located conveniently across the road (Corner of Wynyard St and York Street).
Gilton Valeo is growing
Gilton Valeo would like to introduce the newest member to our team, Fiona Lee.
Fiona is a Consultant at Gilton Valeo and she has completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at UNSW. She is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and has several years migration law experience.
The Government’s response to the subclass 457 recommendations
The Government has released its response to the Independent Review into the Integrity of the 457 visa programme. The majority of the recommendations that were made by the Review Committee have been supported by the Government. These include:
Training benchmarks A and B will be replaced with an annual training contribution fund based on the number of 457 visa holders sponsored and with the contributions scaled according to the size of the sponsoring organisation;
The English language level will be altered to an IELTS average score of 5.0 overall with no less than 4.5 in each component;
Alternate English language test providers are likely to be announced next month;
The current exemption for 5 years continuous study in English will be changed to 5 years cumulative study;
Business sponsorship approvals will be extended from 3 years to 5 years and from 12 months to 18 months for start-up businesses – current approvals will not be extended;
The age limitations and Temporary Residence Transition timeframes for transition to ENS are being reviewed;
It will be unlawful for sponsors to be paid by visa holders to be sponsored and a strong penalty and conviction will be applied;
The timeframe for the sponsor to notify the department of notifiable events will be extended to 28 days after the event has occurred (as opposed to 10 days);
Reviewing the visa fee structure, especially for secondary visa applicants and visa renewal applications.
The Immigration Department has advised that most of the changes arising out of the recommendations will occur over the next six months and some such as additional English language providers are already in progress.
