Immigration news update for Australia, Oman and Zambia
Asia-Pacific
Australia: Guidance on skilled nomination and visa application process
The Australian Government, under Ministerial Direction No 100 has recently published the latest details on the order of priority for skilled nominations and visa applications.
Applicants for employer sponsored nominations and skilled visa applications will be prioritized in the following order:
- Those in relation to certain healthcare or teaching occupations are first in priority.
- Those lodged or nominated by an Approved sponsor with Accredited Status are second in priority.
- Those in relation to an occupation to be carried out in a designated regional area are third in priority.
- Those that count toward the migration program (excluding Subclass 188) are fourth in priority.
- All other visa or nomination applications.
The Australian government will continue prioritizing provisional and permanent skilled applications lodged by applicants located outside Australia and holders of Hong Kong SAR and British National (Overseas) passports. Both new and existing applicants who have applications in process but have not yet received a final determination will now benefit.
This summary was prepared using information obtained from the Australian Government.
Disclaimer: The above information is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have any further inquiries regarding the applicability of this information, please contact Debra Jane Beynon (Regional Immigration Manager, APAC).
Europe, Middle East and Africa
Oman: Entry rules – relaxed
Omani authorities have decided to relax  entry restrictions for residents of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. They can now enter the country without a visa, if entering for commercial and business purposes. GCC residents must have identity cards with a validity of at least three months from arrival date.
This summary was prepared using information obtained from the Khaleej Times.
Zambia: Visa-fee waiver
The Zambian government waived visa fees for nationals of certain countries. Nationals of 42 countries (I.e. Australia, Canada, China, EU, the U.K., and the U.S.) Â no longer need to pay fees when applying for Zambian entry visas.
This summary was prepared using information obtained from the Department of Immigration.
 Disclaimer: The above information is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have any further inquiries regarding the applicability of this information, please contact Roberta Carnaccini (Global Operations Director).
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