Assisting your employees with further onshore visa applications during COVID-19
Where are we at the moment?
The Department of Home Affairs are continuing to process visa applications at the present time. We have noticed a trend of delay of late, as the Department manages the movement of travellers into Australia, and manages their own internal staff resourcing in light of COVID-19. However, applications are otherwise continuing to be processed.
Anyone who holds a visa and is outside of Australia also needs to apply for and obtain an exemption to the travel ban in order to enter.
We have assisted a number of clients with accessing such exemptions to date.
Such an exemption is not required where a person is already physically within Australia.
One of my employees is in Australia and has a visa which is about to expire. What can we do?
Where a person is in Australia and their visa expires, they will become unlawful. This is true even in this COVID-19 landscape.
A person needs to apply for a new visa prior to the expiry of their current visa in order to remain lawful. The best visa for them will depend on their specific circumstances.
Where a person applies for a new visa prior to the expiry of their current visa, they will generally be granted a Bridging Visa A (BVA). This BVA allows a person to remain in Australia lawfully while their application is processed. The BVA remains in effect until a decision is made on the application (that is, the BVA has no expiry date), so even where there are delays, the person can remain in Australia on an ongoing basis.
If the BVA is granted with work rights, the person would be able to work and/or study while they await a decision on their application.
As such, if you have an employee in Australia who you would like to keep on, you might wish to consider contacting us for a confidential discussion regarding their circumstances. We can provide an initial assessment of their eligibility for various visas, advise on costs and timing, and allow you to make the decision as to whether you wish to proceed with an application or not.
The person could even be eligible for certain visa pathways which do not require you to formally sponsor them, such as partner-related pathways, a secondary 417 visa, visitor pathways, the subclass 408 (COVID-19 stream) visa pathway, or other options. We would be happy to advise once we have reviewed their circumstances.
Audits for monitoring and compliance
If you have employees who you know are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, but you are not sure when their visas expire, you might wish to consider having us conduct an immigration audit of your company for compliance. The sanctions for non-compliance with immigration laws can be severe, but moreover this gives you the benefit of peace of mind in relation to the work your staff members can lawfully perform, when their visas expire, and what their future options may be.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the circumstances of any employees who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, please send an email to sean@integratelegal.com, or give us a call on 02 9051 1630.
