UPCOMING CHANGES TO AUSTRALIAN MIGRATION - (FISCAL YEAR 2023-2024)
Australia made changes in Student Visas:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, which ended in January last year, visa restrictions for foreign students were relaxed and then eliminated as part of a solution to labour shortages. This permitted more than 40 hours of work per two weeks to be carried out for those with primary and secondary student visas.
Nevertheless, the period of time for student visa employment shall increase to 48 hours a fortnight from 1 July. This is confirmed by the federal budget, which was presented by Treasury Secretary Jim Chalmers and declared that foreign students working in the elderly care industry will not be subject to a limit until December 31, 2023. Some owners of subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visas will also be permitted to stay in Australia for a longer amount of time as of this date.
For graduates of bachelor’s degrees, the extra time brings about a stay duration of four years (up from two years), a total of five years (up from three), and six years (up from four years) for graduates of master’s degrees.
Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold increased:
First off, beginning of July 1st, a higher minimum wage is required for applicants to acquire employer sponsorship.
Since it was set at $53,900 a decade ago, the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) has not been increased. If the freeze had not been in place, it would have increased to $70,000.
“This is the TSMIT’s first raise in ten years. The day the evaluation was published, Ms. O’Neil issued a statement in which she described it as an initial investment on the kind of immigration system that the government of Albanese intends to create.
There will be a path to permanent residency for skilled workers.
The government declared that by the end of the year, it would give all qualified temporary workers the chance to seek for permanent residency.
For those who possessed or filed for a Temporary Protection (subclass 785) or Secure Haven Company (subclass 790) visa before February 14, 2023, the government had previously said that it would offer a permanent visa track.
Priority given to skilled immigrants.
The government will increase the planning threshold for permanent migration by 190,000 places between 2023 and 2024. Last October, this figure doubled to 195,000 in the inaugural budget of the Albanian government. More than 137,000 jobs will be made available to qualified immigrants in order to close the current skill gap, or about 70%.
This is a little less than the 142,400 spots in the program for 2022–2023.
The family stream, which consists primarily of partner visas, will be given 52,000 spots. Child and partner visas will continue to be based on demand.
Application fees for visas
On budget night, the federal government told SBS News that starting in July, visa application fees will go up for a number of visas.
Visitor, business holiday, work and vacation, training, short operation, and temporary employment short stay specialist visas are among the categories whose fees may increase.
Along with the student visa subclass 500, which affects foreign students, and the working holiday visa, which is the kind used by backpackers, the application price for a visiting visa subclass 600, which will affect tourists, is scheduled to increase.
Visa processing:
The government will give $125.8 million over a four-year period, starting in 2023–2024, to continue putting the summit’s recommendations into practice.
This includes $15.3 million annually for additional enforcement and compliance efforts “aimed at preserving the integrity of the migration system” as well as $50 million over four years (and $75.8 million over two years) to “expand the current surge in visa processing resources”.
Are immigrants coming to Australia?
Net overseas migration (NOM), which accounts for the “one-time catch-up from the pandemic,” will be 400,000 this fiscal year and 315,000 in 2023-24, according to the budget.
The distinction between incoming and outgoing migrants is made by NOM, which includes both transient and long-term inhabitants. Australia’s NOM was predicted in the budget documents released in October that it would rise to only 235,000 throughout the current fiscal year and the following one after the COVID outbreak caused a sharp halt to foreign immigration.
Preceding a period of stabilization, the forecasts indicate a two-year increase that is far greater than earlier projections. “The recovery in temporary immigration with the reopening of Australia’s borders abroad was initially slow but has recently begun to recover at a faster rate,” according to the budget.