As Australia enters 2025, its immigration policies continue to evolve following significant reforms introduced in 2024. These changes reflect the government’s aim to address temporary visa loopholes, improve skilled migration strategies, and align the immigration system with the country’s economic and social priorities. Here’s a detailed look at the key changes migrants can expect this year.

Education Minister Jason Clare proposed that new international student commencements will be capped at 270,000 across Australian higher education and vocational providers for the 2025 calendar year.

The Australian Government unveiled a new permanent residency visa program, available to citizens from select Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste.

As part of Australia’s alterations to the application process and evaluation criteria for the Student (subclass 500) Visa, the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement will be replaced by the Genuine Student (GS) requirement.

It is not new for the Department of Home Affairs to change its policy and provisions from time to time. However, in the past few months, the changes have become so constant that some visa holders cannot cope.

Australia has been one of the top destinations for international students who want to advance in their studies and eventually in their careers. As the second most popular visa, student visa contributes a big chunk of applications every year. To meet the demand, the Australian government announced that Student (SC 500) visa applicants would enjoy priority processing to fast-track their applications.

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.

In a bid to bolster international opportunities and facilitate smoother transitions for various visa categories, recent updates in visa policies have brought forth significant changes.

In the upcoming 2023–24 Permanent Migration Program, the Albanese Government remains steadfast with 190,000 allocated places. Anticipated net overseas migration figures project a surge of up to 400,000 places this year, followed by an estimated 315,000 in 2023–24.

After a comprehensive assessment of Australia's migration system and an in-depth examination of the government's federal budget, the government made remarkable changes that will take effect this upcoming July 2023.

Here are the visa changes and opportunities that will take effect this year following a review of Australia's migration system and the government's federal budget.

Starting on July 1st, 2023, international graduates with eligible qualifications will be given an additional two-year extension to their post-study work rights. Only those international graduates who have completed select degrees in areas where there is a verified shortage of skilled workers are eligible for an extension.

The Australian government announced that the working hour cap will be reintroduced on 1 July 2023 with an increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight.

Millions more migrants are expected to enter Australia in the years ahead under the permanent migration program. With the current migration plans, the country is determined to make it an easy ride for migrants.