Arnab Ghosh Roy also completed a Graduate Diploma in Migration Law at VU and is now completing a Bachelor of Laws at VU, while working at a migration law practice. Arnab shares an update from his practice.
“We have seen a big spike in enquiries for 485 visas. People are booking phone and video consultations to understand their position and gain advice on how they can optimise their ability to work at a time when many businesses are closed or not operating at full capacity.
"We are also having many general consultation sessions for onshore visa applications. Clients want to get advice on what is going to change and what their options are. The offshore side of the business is a bit slow but there are more partner visas.”
Arnab shares his journey from student to advocate and some of the challenges and opportunities created by COVID.
“As a student starting out in migration law, I created an online study group that connects migration law students and alumni from a wide range of universities with industry, both in Australia and abroad.
"I’m now progressing with my law degree, so that in the future I will be able to advise, not only on immigration matters, but also appear in court and advise on adjacent legal issues, like employment, family and criminal matters. The VU Block Model® single-unit timetable allows me to work while I study.
"For migration agents, the biggest change in recent years has been the introduction of the Migration Capstone. It is improving the standard of all migration agents’ knowledge base and improving perceptions of the ethical standards of the industry.
"It is a good time to be studying migration law, because, as well as migration agent work, migration law knowledge is now needed in a broad range of areas including HR, policy departments, embassies and international development.”