The team at Four Corners Emigration wanted to keep you all up to date with the development affecting Australia’s General Skills Migration program and other visas. With the Federal Budget being handed down on the 6th of October 2020, the Australian government have outlined the immigration program for this current tax year, July 2020 – June 2021. Although they are expecting a steep fall in numbers of people coming to Australia this year due to Covid-19, they are estimating that it will come charging backing to higher levels than ever over the coming years. In the last year, Net Overseas Migration was 154,000 and for this coming year, it is – 72,000 and is being estimated to be at 201,000 by 2023.

Travel Bans & Exemptions 

• • Travel bans are slowly and in stages being relaxed.
  • New Zealanders are now able to visit Australia and do not have to quarantine for 14 days.
  • More occupations on the Priority Occupations List are now eligible for exemptions to the travel ban.
  • More visa subclasses are also now eligible for exemptions.
  • It is happening slowly but we are seeing small positive steps in the right direction on our way to opening up Australia again.

What does this all mean for visas? 

• • The overall planning level for numbers this year is still at 160,000. This is people coming into Australia and not the net figure spoke of above which includes Australians departing to live overseas.
  • How they reach these numbers though has been altered.
    • The family stream (partner and parent visas for example) places are to be increased from 47,732 to 77,300.
    • Partner visas alone will be increased to 72,300 places.
    • In the Skilled Stream Employer-Sponsored, Global Talent & Business Migration will be prioritised.
    • The number of places for business migration has been nearly doubled.
    • The number of places for Global Talent has been tripled.
    • The Department is though looking to maintain approximately the one-third family to two-thirds skilled ratio.
    • People that are applying for visa subclasses 189, 190 & 491 through the General Skills Migration stream will most likely find the coming year frustrating. This is particularly so for people who are not already in Australia, as the Department has stated they will be focusing on applicants already in Australia.
    • The one exception to this is if you are lucky enough to be on the Priority Occupations List. These occupations will be prioritised and are eligible for exemptions to the travel ban.
      This list is made up of 17 Occupations:

• • • • Chief Executive or Managing Director (111111)
      • Construction Project Manager (133111)
      • Mechanical Engineer (233512)
      • General Practitioner (253111)
      • Resident Medical Officer (253112)
      • Psychiatrist (253411)
      • Medical Practitioner nec (253999)
      • Midwife (254111)
      • Registered Nurse (Aged Care) (254412)
      • Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) (254415)
      • Registered Nurse (Medical) (254418)
      • Registered Nurse (Mental Health) (254422)
      • Registered Nurse (Perioperative) (254423)
      • Registered Nurses nec (254499)
      • Developer Programmer (261312)
      • Software Engineer (261313)
      • Maintenance Planner (312911)

What’s next?

• • We are still waiting on more information from the State & Territory governments about their state nomination programs for this coming year for visa subclasses 190 & 491. They were allocated numbers in the budget and this is currently being finalised. We expect to hear more about this mid-November and will update you then.
  • It is important for you to consider your long term goals and why you started this process in the first place. It can be a constructive use of your time now to keep your application moving and then you will not be at the back of the queue once the travel bans are lifted. It is realistic though to expect some delays. We can, of course, help you gather all the documentation, complete skills assessments & English language tests and submit EOIs but we do expect that you will then have to wait for some time until receiving an invitation to apply for a visa.

As there is a lot of new information always being released, the team at Four Corners Emigration sympathise with you that the uncertainty can be very difficult. If you have any questions on how this may affect you, please don’t hesitate to email us at info@four-corners.com.au. We will continue to keep you updated with new information and you can follow our LinkedIn page here to be the first to hear about it.