Effective July 1 Brings Major Policy & Visa Changes For Skilled Immigration To Australia

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Sandy Leave a Comment

The beginning of the new financial year on 1 July means reshaping and readjusting targets under skilled immigration to Australia programs and opening up new opportunities for people from overseas.

Australia elected its 31st Prime Minister on May 23, 2022, following the Parliament majority secured by the Australian Labor Party. A new Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, and Multicultural Affairs is also appointed following the 2022 federal elections.

As Australia moves into its post-pandemic recovery phase, the permanent migration program for 2022-2023 is put forth to facilitate future economic growth and handle the COVID-19 response.

Major highlights

The Australian government has fixed the 2022-23 permanent migration program ceiling at 160,000 places.

The government has increased places in almost all Australian visa subclasses, making pathways for permanent residence accessible to many.

Subclass 485 visa applications in the Graduate Work stream will no longer require nominating a skilled occupation and obtaining an assessment.

Visa application fees to increase by 3 percent from 1 July.

Job Ready Program (JRP) for international students will move from a four-step to a three-step program. This will save time and money for many international students.

Check your eligibility on the Australian skilled migration point calculator here.

Is Australia Looking for Skilled Immigrants?

Australia is looking for skilled immigrants in its post-COVID economic recovery. The entry of immigrants to Australia also increases the tax revenues that contribute to building a more dynamic and multicultural society.

The country’s leading economists are endorsing a return to the highest immigration intake on record, saying Australia should aim for at least 190,000 migrants per year, up from the target of 160,000 per year set ahead of COVID. However, the Australian government has fixed the 2022-23 permanent migration program ceiling at 160,000 places.

Melbourne University economist John Freebairn argued a larger immigrant population would enable Australia to capture economies of scale and fill gaps in high-skill and low-skill jobs.

Ironically, 30% of all Australians currently are born overseas. For 20% of Australians, one or both parents were born overseas. Policy analysts and Immigration experts believe that Australia without open immigration would not be prosperous as it is now.

Overview of Immigration Policy and Visa Changes 2022-23

Following the start of the new financial year, Australia resets its immigration targets. The government has already increased places in almost all subclasses. Seats in subclass 189 will be increased from 6,500 to over 16,000, and for subclass 491, the seats have been doubled from around 11,000 to over 25,000.

The increase in places will make Australian permanent residence pathways more accessible. Let’s explore further changes.

Subclass 485 visa applications in the Graduate Work stream

Applicants under the Graduate Work stream usually were required to fulfill the following criteria to qualify:

nominate an occupation on the medium and long-term strategic skills list to have a degree or
qualification closely related to that occupation and
be assessed by a relevant assessing authority as having skills suitable for that occupation.

Effective from July 01, these requirements are removed for all applications lodged during the 2022-23 financial year. Experts believe more international vocational education and training (VET) graduates will be encouraged to stay and work in Australia for longer following the change.

We could see more visa streams open for the broader range of graduates with diplomas and trade qualifications that are not closely related to occupations on the skilled occupation list.

Visa application fee hike

The Australian government is expected to increase visa application fees for most visas by 3% in 2022. Get in touch with our consultants for the latest updates on visa application fees.

Changes to Job Ready Program (JRP)

Good news for international students as the Job Ready Program (JRP) will move from a four (4) step program to a three (3) step program.

JRP is a program for international students who have completed a qualification issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) during their studies in Australia.

Following this, the Provisional Skills Assessment, where the applicant had to complete 360 hours, will be removed. This will save time and money for many international students.

Take this free assessment online to determine your eligibility and plan your immigration to Australia.

Does Australia Need Immigrants?

The demand for skilled immigration in Australia is so high that the government is encouraging active reforms to divert Australian immigration interest to more regional areas.

Western Australia has already opened state nominations to Overseas Skilled Workers & Graduates in over 330 occupations. Learn more about it here.

Who is Eligible to Immigrate to Australia?

Skilled visa to Australia requirements is based on points secured against various human capital factors like age, education, language proficiency, work experience, and more.

We encourage you to check out our previous blog post that distinguishes between Canada and Australia’s immigration points systems for skilled migration and learn more about points required for skilled migration to Australia. Click here.

How to Apply for Skilled Migration to Australia?

We recommend getting in touch with a certified immigration consultant to apply for skilled migration to Australia. You can determine your eligibility and explore various options for skilled migration to Australia depending on your work experience and academic profile.

While countries like Canada, and Australia is poised well to welcome more skilled immigrants to boost post-pandemic recovery, you can book a free appointment with CanApprove and consult an expert before deciding on your Australian visa application.

CanApprove is a certified consultant for Canada and Australia immigration services and overseas education counseling. With a rich experience of 20+ years in the industry, CanApprove has had major successes in fulfilling the dreams of thousands of migrating abroad!

Migrate to Australia from Dubai in 2022

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Sandy Leave a Comment

Australia is now open to welcoming all valid visa holders to enter the country. The travel restrictions lifted nearly two years since the pandemic. Subsequently, it has made plans to migrate to Australia from Dubai in 2022 easier for interested aspirants.

As we are just in the first quarter of the year 2022, even more changes are anticipated for Australian immigration. Here is a summary of the upcoming changes that could prove useful in planning your migration to Australia from Dubai in the near future since Australia is now open. We cover upcoming changes to International Student migration, the Regional Migration Program, and more.

This blog is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Before proceeding, we strongly urge you to take specialist advice for your specific circumstances. You can click here for expert opinion on case-basis.

Student & Temporary Graduate Visas for Australian Immigration

In a media release dated 19 January 2022, the Australian Government announced the refund of Visa Application Charge (VAC) for student visa holders who arrive in Australia between 19 January 2022 and 19 March 2022. The secondary visa holders are also included. In addition to it, the government has also removed the working hours limitation for student visa holders across all sectors.

In a separate media release dated 18 January 2022, developments around Temporary Graduate subclass 485 visa are discussed. It includes an extension of the visa validity period favouring current and former visa holders impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions

All these measures would remain in effect until a further review in April 2022.

Meanwhile, Universities in Australia & New Zealand are open to welcoming International Students for new intakes in 2022. Australian universities thrive in research, particularly in the arts and humanities, education, and sciences. It not only has eight institutions ranked among the top 100 in the world, but it also has an excellent studying atmosphere. Courses in the arts, education, and humanities are often less expensive, whereas topics such as engineering and medicine are more expensive. Postgraduate studies usually involve higher tuition rates, and prices vary depending on the program.

Contact our overseas education counsellors to learn about your eligibility for Australian immigration from Dubai.

Regional Migration Programs Making Way for Permanent Residency in Australia

Australia is likely to commence the Subclass 191 visa in November 2022. It will then when the first batch of eligible visa holders be invited to apply for permanent residency in Australia.

The recently introduced Subclass 191 visa corresponds to a permanent visa for skilled workers under the subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa and the subclass 494 Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa. Eligible candidates are nominated based on their relevant work experience, English language proficiency, and age limits (unless an exemption applies).

The media release also announced that subclass 489, 491, and 494 visa holders impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions will have their visas extended by 3 years.

Meet CanApprove – Your BEST Guide for Australian Immigration

The possible emergence of new variants of COVID-19 brings a greater degree of variability in relaxing travel restrictions in Australia. While the present stance of Australia is to welcome all doubly-vaccinated visa holders to enter the country, travelling in and out of Australia will still depend on the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and overseas countries.

Take this free assessment online to determine your eligibility to apply for permanent residency in Australia.

This can make your task of planning to migrate to Australia from Dubai difficult. Your eligibility to qualify for entering Australia may differ from a case basis and having a second opinion from a regulated consultant like CanApprove is the preferred way to go about it. Book your free consultation with us to kick-start your Australian Immigration today!

Migration Reboot in Australia Despite Border Restrictions Until 17 December 2021

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Sandy 2 Comments

Earlier in the month of September, the Australian Government had extended its current border restrictions until 17 December 2021.

Those without citizenship or permanent residency remain barred from entering Australia unless they had a specific exemption. Interestingly, this restriction also serves as a de facto ban on leaving the country for long-term residents of Australia on temporary visas as they have no right to return.

Australia preparing to reopen its international borders next month. Temporary migration likely to resume in the near future, let’s look into your best options of migration to Australia for work or study.

Australia Plans Migration Reboot to Address Worker Shortages

In October, business groups in Australia had strongly demanded doubling the number of intakes to 200,000 a year under the Australia Skilled Migration Program. Endorsed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it will lead to avoiding labour shortages and expertise, useful for reviving the economy.

“From construction workers to chefs, engineers to educators, and mechanics to managers, approximately one in three skilled occupations could be facing shortages if we don’t shift the dial on migration soon,”. Mr Andrew McKellar, wrote this in the chamber’s chief executive in the Australian Financial Review.

Infrastructure Australia, a government advisory body, has predicted a shortage of 105,000 workers by mid-2023. This is figure is crucial to ensuring Australia achieves its big-spending infrastructure building projects.

Officials in New South Wales have reportedly advised the Premier that Australia should bring in two million people over the next five years to strengthen the economy.

International students will be allowed to enter Australia in a phased and restricted manner. Discover exciting study abroad options by contacting our expert overseas education counselor today.

South Australia Immigration: New Engineering Occupations Open to Offshore Applicants

South Australia covers some of the aridest parts of the continent. The state’s capital is Adelaide and is the most populated region as well as concentrated with high-skilled immigrants and foreign business investors.

In an effort to support temporary immigration to Australia. an additional 70 skilled occupations are already open to applicants currently residing offshore from Tuesday 28 September 2021. An additional 24 Engineering occupations were made open to applicants currently residing offshore from November 02.

The minimum requirements for state nomination for these occupations include:

Minimum eight years work experience in the nominated or closely related occupation.
Demonstration of a Superior English proficiency.
At least 85 points for the Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) in the Department of Home Affairs points test.

Choosing Canada over Australia for Immigration

About 4% of the population in Australia, say about a million, were temporary visa holders in 2019. Many were students that took part-time jobs, providing shops and businesses with a large supply of cheap labour. In 2019, Australia capped the number of permanent visas at 160,000. This means that only a fraction of them would be able to become permanent residents.

Border closures had forced Australia from filling its land with immigrants to asking a million of them to leave. Even Canada’s population growth was slashed to the slowest pace in more than a century, but as restrictions eased the nation in July welcomed the largest number of newcomers since at least 2015, and repeated the same feature in September.

The government is aiming to add more than 400,000 new permanent residents each year by 2023.

An immigration couple like Percsy and Agh, as reported in Bloomberg would once have been prime migrants for Australia. But as the couple studied to get the qualification and points to qualify for permanent residency. The goalposts shifted again, due to pandemic. Eventually, the couple realized they would never reach a new level. They caught in a policy shift that saw the intake of skilled independent workers slashed to 6,500 people, from 46,000. They finally gave up hope and are moving to Canada, which offered them a permanent visa.

Like Australia, Canada also relies on large numbers of immigrants and foreign students, and workers on temporary visas. But in contrast with Australia, Canada continued to persuade tens of thousands of those temporary foreign workers to get permanent resident status even during the pandemic.

Take a quick online assessment of your eligibility to qualify for Australia Immigration.

Book your appointment today to explore the best options based on your academic and work profile.

Tag: Australia Skilled Migration