11 Years of Trade

My name is Farhan Rehman. I am the Principal lawyer at the Rehman Sheriff Group (RSG). RSG recently achieved the milestone of 11 years of immigration law practice. I want to thank you for your support over these many years and look forward to sharing many more accomplishments and stories in the coming years with you.

While celebrating our firm’s anniversary, I am writing to you to update you on our group’s activities and some overall migration trends here at home in Australia. Thank you for reading.

Volatility

It is unfortunate to see that volatility continues across the Middle East with escalations continuing.

The Australian Government has advised Australians in Lebanon to “leave immediately” with a fresh warning that Beirut airport could close and leave travellers stranded as the volatile security situation escalates with Israel’s war in Gaza extending to other regions.

Our office has seen a higher trend of refusals for visa applicants holding Lebanese passports offshore with the refusal citing the political context in Lebanon. A number of our clients from Iran are overseas doctors, some of which are still in Iran while their temporary visas are being processed and so far we have no seen any impacts on the visa processing due to the escalation in that Region.

Migration by Residence and Investment Programs

With the closure of Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP), many of our clients are continuing to consider other countries for residence and or citizenship by investment. RSG provides “plan b” residence and citizenship options to a number of global private clients, you can read about these residence and citizenship options here Global Migration by Investment – Rehman Sheriff Group.  

Despite the BIIP closing there is some talks of a new National Innovation Visa to be launched at the end of the year that may include a significant investor visa component. The idea is that the new National Innovation Visa will replace the Global Talent Visa and the BIIP, aiming to attract exceptionally skilled migrants. This visa is designed to ensure that these individuals can significantly contribute to the Australian economy by driving growth in key sectors. Some commentators in the industry however are unsure how practical this new visa will be.

New Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration
The Hon Tony Burke MP was sworn in as the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Cyber Security, Minister for the Arts, and Leader of the House on 29 July 2024. Some believe there maybe some changes in Australian immigration policy direction following his appointment and our office continues to monitor this space.

Sustainability and Community Based Initiatives
RSG continues to support sustainability and community-based initiatives in the Riverina, New South Wales. Recently, RSG funded the development of a community centre based in the Regional City of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales which is due to open to the community at the end of August 2024. The community centre will serve “kids from the country” of various backgrounds. This initiative excites me as I grew up in the Riverina and have always wanted to give back to that Region.

Social cohesion is more important than ever given the domestic and global political climate. Keeping that statement in mind, RSG remains a corporate sponsor of the Salaam Institute. The Salaam Institute connects, inspires, empowers and educates Australian professionals through high-calibre learning and professional networking opportunities throughout Australia. On 1 August 2024, RSG hosted the Salaam Institute at Hotel Realm in Nation’s Capital with Captain Mona Shindy as the invited Guest Speaker. There are various events under the Salaam Institute banner that have been scheduled around Australia which we are proudly to continue to support. 

Employee Support Fund

RSG has launched an employee support fund (Fund) and Oguzhan Sheriff has been appointed as the Chairman of the executive committee for the Fund. This is exciting as it was always a vision for me to see RSG to support its employees in ways that could change lives.

The purpose of the Fund is to provide emergency funds access to RSG’s employees in the case of personal or family emergency. RSG will contribute to the fund per quarter.

Shukriya, Salamat, Merci and Thank you for reading.