More than a Thousands immigrants are expected to enter Australia in 2023 as part of its permanent migration program. Visa processing will be speeded for foreign workers, and foreign students will be rewarded to stay for longer in order to fill the gap in skills. Here's a rundown of the major immigration reforms that were announced in 2022, and the changes to come in the coming year.
The most significant changes made to the immigration system in Australia over the last few years were implemented in 2022.
Australian visas in 2023
Shake-up of the migration program:
The government increased its annual annual permanent immigration intake up to 195,000 in its 2022-23 immigration program and opened the doors to an additional 35,000 people to help fill the country's urgent skill shortages and cut down of temporary laborers.
Before COVID was a reality the country, the Morrison government had capped the number of people who could be admitted to the country at 160,000 annually, however the number of people who came to Canada fell into net negative territory over the two years of the outbreak, resulting in an overall decline of more than 600,000 temporarily-visa holders.
In announcing the decision to raise limits in the month of September Premier Anthony Albanese said the country has to learn from the experience of the pandemic. one of them is to make changes to the mix of migration.
"We cannot just be dependent on temporary workers. There are a myriad of jobs, be it nursing, engineers, chefs, or engineers in which we've experienced skills shortages for a long time.
"It doesn't make sense to let people in, keep them for a couple of years and then bring another group to adjust to the Australian workplace," the prime minister stated in a press release during the Jobs and Skills Summit.
Boost for skilled migration:
In the wake of the removal of the cap the number of spots within the Skilled Stream has increased substantially from 79,600 to 142.400 and region-specific categories (subclass 491) expected to have 34,000 permanent migrants , and states and territories that are nominated (subclass subclass 190) 31,000 spots, which is an increase of 20,000 over the projected numbers for the previous year's program.
The Minister for Interior Affairs Claire O'Neil said these changes to the skilled stream will permit more professionals with the right qualifications to join the workforce during the current year of the program.
"This will allow us to immediately address the urgent shortage of skilled workers and help migrants build the lives they want in Australia and also put money into their and the future of their families," she stated in a press statement in September.
In a discussion of the effect of these changes for Indian candidates, the Melbourne-based immigration agent Navjot Kailay explained that in his field of work, he's seen the approval rate of applicants reaching 65 points, which Kailay said was "unimaginable" just a year ago.
"The general trend is positive for skilled immigrants. In the past 3 rounds we've noticed an unprecedented increase in invitations. On the 8th of December, 2022 the Department of Home Affairs issued 35,000 invitations that show the urgency of the government to tackle the skills shortage through this selectionprocess," the official said.
In addition, the quota for Business Innovation and Investment Visa program (subclass 188) is now 5000, as opposed to 13,500 in the previous year.
The number of positions allotted for this Global Talent (Independent) category commonly referred to as the
"fastest route to the right to stay permanently'
Also, the number was reduced to 5,500, which makes it harder for skilled people to be accepted into the program.
Future migration of Australia:
The Labor government also announced a thorough study of Australia's current migration process to ensure that it is more able to meet the current economic challenges and provides a clear path for the next decade.
As part of its response to review of the federal government in the federal government's review, the Grattan Institute, a public policy think tank, suggested the nation needs to begin with rethinking the goals it has set in order to facilitate skilled migration.
On the 28th of October an updated Ministerial Direction was issued that repealed the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) and also formalized the priority of processing in the education and health sectors.
In a press release to SBS News, a Department of Home Affairs spokesperson in December told SBS News "these applications are currently being evaluated in 3 days."
Criteria to be relaxed for state-nominated visas
A majority of states are easing their occupational lists and other criteria for attracting candidates based on their skills requirements.
With the largest number of state allocations in the program that is state-nominated the New South Wales government has recently decided to remove the requirements for the work experience of applicants and the minimum point scores for the skilled-nominated visa category.
"Previously published points scores as well as work experiences guides for subclass 190 have been removed because of increasing access to the Skilled Independent Visa (subclass number 189) through the Department of Home Affairs," the NSW government's website
states.
NSW has also opened an its office in Mumbai India, the capital city of commerce of India in order to draw more international students and migrants and to encourage trade and investment opportunities.
Sydney-based immigration agent Rajwant Singh said NSW's move to relax the requirements for permanent residence is a massive relief.
"Removing the points limit and the age requirement has been a major satisfaction for many candidates, and especially for those who've had to wait for chance over the past five to ten decades," he said.
With 11,570 available places for Subclass 190 and 3,400 Subclass 491 as well as 170 business visa spots, Victoria has extended its list of eligible jobs to fill in the gaps in skills within the state.
"All jobs that fall under the relevant Department of Home Affairs occupation are now eligible and applicants are not needed to possess STEMM capabilities and work in a targeted industry to apply," the state government's website says.
The state also allows foreign applicants as well as residents already in Victoria to apply for visas.
partner visas no more limitless:
52,500 seats were assigned in the Family Stream that is comprised mainly of Partner visas. This allows Australians to reconnect with relatives who live overseas and to provide them with permanent pathways to migrate.
It is estimated that the Partner Visa category projected to supply 40,500 visas processing will be moved towards a demand-driven system.
Mr. Kailay stated that the move will aid in reducing the backlog of visa applications and processing time for many applicants, many of whom have waited for decades to receive their grants and be reunited with their families.
"Granting Partner visas on a basis of demand will allow the flexibility to satisfy the demands for Partner visas within a specific year of program and help in limiting the growth pipeline for the future," he said.
Mr. Kailay said that the migration agents are waiting for clarification on timings for processing for India.
"In 2023, we'll expect some clarity from the department's guidelines since different timeframes apply to various countries, for instance Visa applications for partners from Asian nations like India might take longer than an European country to be approved."
Rewards for students from abroad:
The working hours for students are now temporarily reduced until June 30, 2023 in order to alleviate the shortage of labour. This means that all students currently in school as well as new students and secondary applicants are able to work more than 40 hours in a fortnight in any industry.
Mr. Singh stated that he believes that 2023 will be an excellent year for students from overseas. But, he also stated there is a certain amount of streamlining needed in order to compete with other world studies destinations.
"I think the timeframes for approval of student visas is excessive when compared to other countries such as Canada as well as the UK.
"Sometimes educational institutions can require 3 to four months to issue offers letters. This is something that I think needs to change in order to witness the student market in international countries increase to pre-pandemic levels" he added.
In the context of the historic Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade agreement (AI-ECTA) that entered into effect on the 29th of December The government has made a proposal to extend the duration of work permits after studies for Indian students in order to increase the pipeline of skilled labor. The timeframe to implement these agreements will be set in 2023.
In the very first instance, the federal government also pledged to include India as a participant in it's Working Holiday program by promising Work and Holiday visas (subclass 462) up to 1,000 Indian citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 for a period of 12 months, if they meet the eligibility requirements.
A DHA spokesperson confirmed that the proposed arrangement will be in place within two years of date of the ECTA's entry into force.
Migration agents claim that the Work and Holiday visa provision has attracted a huge amount of interest within India. Indian market.
However, Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia believes this approach will not be a solution to the country's future skills requirements.
Overall faster visa processing:
Recent government data shows that Department of Home Affairs has reduced the wait list to 600,000 after having inherited the backlog of visa application of over 950,000 applications.
In the last month the Minister of Immigration Andrew Giles said that by increasing processing times and bringing on an additional 400 employees, "I'm proud to say that we've processed more than four million applications for visas in the time since our transition into Government."