Australia tightens migration rules — ABC News Australia
In Australia, the Labor Party government has announced changes to migration rules that will limit the ability of international students to bring their families, introduce caps on extended stays for Working Holiday Maker program participants, and strengthen monitoring of people with expired visas. This was reported by ABC News Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said at the National Press Club in Canberra that the package aims to restore the “integrity” of the migration program and strengthen government control over its demand-driven components. The government views the budget forecasts for net overseas migration as targets: 245,000 people this year and 225,000 in the next financial year. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, net overseas migration was 292,100 people in the year to March.
Restrictions for students and travellers
International students will generally no longer be able to add family members to their visas. Exceptions will remain for citizens of Pacific countries and ASEAN states, as well as for certain programs, including doctoral studies. Families already in Australia will not be separated.
Students who want to change their course of study will have to apply for a new visa. After completing a course of study, they will only be able to enrol in a program at a higher qualification level — for example, from a bachelor’s degree to a master’s program. The government also plans for visitor visas to generally include a no-further-stay condition so that their holders cannot apply for other visas while already in Australia.
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For Working Holiday Maker program participants, a ballot system will be introduced for the second and third years of stay. The second year will be capped at 45,000 places; applicants will still be required to complete 88 days of work in regional areas. The third year will have 5,000 places and require six months of regional work. Last year, about 57,000 program participants spent a second year in Australia, and about 31,000 spent a third year.
Monitoring expired visas
The government intends to strengthen monitoring of people who have remained in the country after their visas expired. To do this, it plans to recruit another 100 migration compliance officers and add 250 detention places. Authorities are also considering the possibility of repurposing a former quarantine facility in Melbourne.
Tony Burke said the code for migration agents would be changed so they could be penalized or deregistered for encouraging clients to submit unfounded applications. Separately, the government plans to prioritize applicants in construction, healthcare, agriculture, fishing and teaching when processing skilled visas. The government also plans to revise the points system for skilled permanent migration, equating construction occupations with a university qualification.
