Suspension of Australian visas lifted amongst confirmed changes
July 01 2010 by Niall J Rice
Australian immigration rules changed
The suspension of Australia visas has today been lifted; this coincides with the governments’ new skilled occupation list also being revealed and the old critical skills list being abolished.
As previously reported the new list has been adjusted from 400 listed occupations to just 183, this re-structuring of the skilled occupations list was in response to a need to only attract those migrants that were economically productive to Australia’s businesses.
The saving grace for some, however, lies within the new occupations list for the Australian Skilled Sponsored Visa. This list retains some of the occupations that have been excluded from the Skilled Independent Visa route - such as hairdressing. Those applying for this visa class must however also have their occupation on the States list, this means the state in which a person wants to immigrate must support their sponsorship.
The streamlining of the Australian immigration system caught many interested in immigrating to Australia on the back-foot, including many students that were already enrolled on courses concerned with the redundant occupations. There was initially dis-content among this group as many students choose Australia to study purely as a route to another Australian visa and permanent residency in the country.
Chris Evans, the minister for Australian immigration, released a statement to clarify the issue, he said;
“The government’s reforms are not just brining in the skilled migrants Australia actually needs but the demand-driven focus means migrants are increasingly working in the occupations and regions that will most benefit the Australian economy.”
It has been reported that there will be increases in migration to the areas that need it most, such as Western Australia and Queensland where skilled workers are heavily in demand and not supported by the natural population.
For all information and advice on how these changes will affect your Australian immigration plans contact Global Visas today.
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