Team Blitz India
SYDNEY: Australia said last week that it would tighten visa rules for international students and lowskilled workers that could halve its migrant intake over the next two years as the government looks to overhaul what it said was a “broken” migration system.
Under the new policies, international students would need to secure higher ratings on English tests and there would be more scrutiny on a student’s second visa application that would prolong their stay.
“Our strategy will bring migration numbers back to normal,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said during a media briefing.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over the weekend said Australia’s migration numbers needed to be wound back to a “sustainable level,” adding that “the system is broken.”
The decision comes after net immigration was expected to have peaked at a record 510,000 in 2022-23. Official data showed it was forecast to fall to about a quarter of a million in 2024-25 and 2025- 26, roughly in line with pre-Covid levels.
O’Neil said the increase in net overseas migration in 2022-23 was mostly driven by international students.
Australia boosted its annual migration numbers last year to help businesses recruit staff to fill shortages after the pandemic brought strict border controls, and kept foreign students and workers out for nearly two years.
But the sudden influx of foreign workers and students has exacerbated pressure on an already tight rental market, with homelessness on the rise in the country.
A survey done for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper showed that 62 per cent of Australian feel the country’s migration intake was too high. Long reliant on immigration to supply what is now one of the tightest labour markets in the world, Australia’s Labor government has pushed to speed up the entry of highly skilled workers and smooth their path to permanent residency.
A new specialist visa for highly skilled workers will be set up with the processing time set at one week, helping businesses recruit top migrants amid tough competition with other developed economies.
Canada puts curbs on post-grad work permits
CANADIAN Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced significant changes in post-graduate work permit regulations last week and a hike in financial requirements for international students.
As per the new policy, the Canadian government has decided not to extend a temporary policy providing an additional 18-month work permit to post-graduate work permit holders whose permits will expire on January 1, 2024, or after. The announcement said foreign nationals with postgraduate work permits (PGWP) expiring up to December 31, 2023, remain eligible to apply.
Following the announcement, a signature campaign seeking an extension PGWP picked up pace. Temporary residents are now seeking extension up to five-year work permit for those who had enrolled for a two-year study programme and a twoyear work permit for those who had registered for a one-year programme.
The new rules have hurled international students, especially those whose permits are set to expire in 2024, on to uncertain times. Canada-based immigration consultant Kanwar Sumit Singh Sierah is leading one such signature campaign. Though it started in May, it has become news now after the recent announcements by the Canadian government.
The campaign has been named PGWP52. Already, over 30,000 people have signed the petition and international students and work permit holders are also making efforts on a joint platform.
According to a rough estimate, around 9 lakh international students are already on study permits in Canada, and nearly 14 lakh are on work permits.
The number, if totalled, amounts to almost 23 lakh, while information revealed that not more than 3 lakh applicants will be considered for permanent residency in Canada under the economic policy in 2024.
This gap is enormous, and this is why students are seeking an extension in PGWP to get time to apply for permanent residency. The candidates thus seek a permanent change in the work permit rules as they contribute to the country’s economy and hence be given sufficient time to settle down.
