2024 Migration Changes: The end of permanent temporariness
Highlights
The year 2024 is considered to be a transitional phase to a more sustainable migration system. The new strategy is focused on effectively tackling challenges within the migration structure, especially the issues about long-term temporary visa holders. To give you a clearer overview, we list down the top immigration changes this year 2024.
New Skills In Demand Visa
The Australian government has unveiled a new "Skills in Demand" visa to replace the previous Temporary Skill Shortage 482 visa. This new visa brings significant alterations for the temporary skilled migrant workers and businesses. Also, the Skills in Demand visa will have three streams:
Specialist Skills Pathway
This is for highly skilled migrants who are beneficial to Australia’s national productivity with guaranteed annual earnings of at least AUD 135,000
Core Skills Pathway
This is for skilled migrants whose occupation is on a new Core Skills Occupation list with guaranteed annual earnings of at least AUD 70,000
Essential Skills Pathway
This will be for workers paid below AUD 70,000 with essential skills. Most of these workers are sponsored through labour agreements
Consultation regarding the regulation of migration for skilled lower-paid workers in the third pathway is anticipated to commence in the first half of 2024.
This new visa program has a four-year stay period which aims to provide workers with enhanced opportunities to switch employers and pursue a pathway toward permanent residency. Furthermore, it offers greater flexibility and potential for permanent residency.
Student Visa Changes
The Australian government is making substantial adjustments to its student visa program to improve the education experiences of international students and link their studies to opportunities for permanent migration.
Processing priorities
The Australian government formally announced through Ministerial Direction No. 107 that they will prioritize processing applications for the student and student guardian visa programmes. This directive will apply to all visa applications lodged on or from 15 December 2023, as well as applications lodged before this date that are yet to be finalized.
New GST
The new Genuine Student Test involves an interview between applicants and visa officers. The interview assesses the applicants' English proficiency, academic qualifications, financial documents, and overall authenticity to enhance the screening process.New English proficiency requirement
Student visa applicants are now required to have an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.0 (up from 5.5) or an equivalent test of English language proficiency such as the Pearson Test of English (PTE).
Temporary Graduate Visa changes
Approximately this second quarter of the year 2024, the government will aim to strengthen and simplify the Temporary Graduate Visa through these amendments:
New age limit for visa applicants
Under the new settings, applicants will need to be under the age of 35 (down from the current age of 50).
Reduction of visa duration
To end the “permanent temporariness”, the administration reduced the initial temporary graduate visa to two years for a bachelor's or master's degree by coursework, and three years for a master's by research.
Exception: Students who are located in regional areas will be eligible for a second visa of one to two years. However, the approval of this visa will still depend upon their location.
If you are having a hard time planning your pathway to Australia, the best thing to do is ask for assistance from certified migration experts. At Think Visa, we specialize in processing visas in these complex situations. By ensuring that all the essential documents, our team of skilled migration consultants can help you get through the process. Start your migration process with people you could trust.
