November at Nomos
The last month of spring has been both wet and interesting. Here are some of the major highlights from Nomos for the month:
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- COVID-19 continues to have a direct and ongoing impact on Australian immigration and how we manage incoming travellers, with two major and very welcome developments this month. From 15 December (note that this date has been deferred by 2 weeks), we will see the return of some temporary visa holders to Australia as well as travellers from both Japan and Korea without the need for a travel exemption. For more details, see our previous blog post from last week. We also saw a significant amendment to the Migration Regulations 1994 which will now permit applicants who have had visas refused or cancelled and who hold a Bridging visa to make applications for a Subclass 190, Subclass 494 or Subclass 491 visa onshore. Previously, s48 of the Migration Act 1958 prevented such applications. This is a direct answer to the fact that leaving Australia and subsequently returning continues to be impractical. We looked at this in more detail here.
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- After months of working remotely, the Nomos team finally returned to the office in November. Unfortunately some of our much loved office plants have seen better days, but we are all glad to be returning to a regular routine and (most importantly) armed with a COVID office safety plan, being able to safely work together in the same space. We are extremely happy to leave the video conferencing behind us and enjoy the face-to-face collegiality after so long a time apart!
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- November’s best news came in the form of a brand-new baby – we are delighted at the arrival of Director Victoria Stevenson’s very first grandchild, a healthy and highly inquisitive baby boy! The ongoing border disruptions with New Zealand means she hasn’t met the little man in person yet, but we have all seen photos and regular updates flow from across the Tasman. In what has been an otherwise fairly cheerless year for a number of reasons, this blessed news has lightened all our hearts here at Nomos!
That’s the Nomos wrap-up for November. See you next month and our final wrap-up of 2021!
*This is general information only, as at the date of publication, and should not be interpreted as legal advice. For an accurate and current assessment of your circumstances and visa options, please contact us to receive this advice.
