Immigration to Australia will not be full of hassles anymore as the great island nation is planning on changing its Points Based Immigration System to become better like that of Canada.
When you are looking to get a visa to work in Australia you get to know that Australia already has a points system. But the thing is, the old system is not that good. Moreover, it has not been able to attract young immigrants like Canada and some other countries can. This is why Australia is working towards its betterment.
Read the whole news to know further about the changes.
Why the Change in Immigration System?
The Government of Australia is making plans to smoothly change its immigration system and make it better. Why make changes? Well, if Australia does not change its immigration system then it is likely that the immigrants would run to other countries.
As of now, immigrants are after countries that offer them a hassle free journey, and a not so complex immigration process.
Currently, the talent market is full of youths looking to go abroad and get themselves a good job. Along with this, they are also looking for easy ways of immigration. If a country has strict laws and tight regulations, it is obvious that the country will be facing migration troubles. Hence, less immigrants to that nation.
In this regard, it is very much necessary for Australia to implement changes that would attract expats from all over the world. These foreign nationals would then help in the growth of the local economy of the island nation.
Previous Immigration System of Australia
If we talk about the previous or the current immigration system of Australia we get to know that the system is not as effective as that of Canada.
The thing is, Australia has a much more expensive immigration system, which is also lengthy. On top of that, the application processing time takes too much time. Moreover, the system is not attracting young migrants as well as talented migrant workers as effectively as it should.
On the other hand, there’s Canada. The country has a simplified immigration system, much faster application processing, not-so-expensive applications, and a higher ability to attract immigrants with all its new immigration policies.
All of this has led to Australia believing that it needs to change as well. Let’s see what the new immigration policies will be.
The New Immigration Policies
In the upcoming 3 or 6 months, Australia’s migration system is set to undergo some serious changes, as mentioned above. According to the Minister of Home Affairs, Clare O’Neil, when she addressed at the National Press Conference and the Federal Budget, these are some of the changes that would happen:-
- For those with a Student Visa or an Employer Sponsored visa, there will be more routes to permanent residency.
- The rules and regulations for those under a Student Visa will become more complicated. This will make sure that students are actually studying and not using their visa to get employment only.
- The Skilled Visa Program is set to be simplified. This will happen as a three-tier processing system will be created.
- The minimum salary requirements will be increased for those on an Employer Sponsored visa.
Starting 1st July, 2023, below mentioned changes will come into effect:-
- Student visa holders can work for up to 48 hours a fortnight.
- Citizens of New Zealand can apply for citizenship of Australia directly.
- The earlier Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold was $53,900, but it will increase to $70,000.
- Some of the particular visa holders of subclass 485 Temporary Graduate can apply for 2 years of visa extension.
- Visa application charges, and CPI will increase by 6%. However, for some visitor and temporary visa subclasses, the increase will be 15%. While for business innovation and investment visas, the increase is 40%.
- Those foreign students in the aged care sector would no longer face the 48 hour fortnightly work cap up until this year, meaning until 31st December, 2023.
