What are the new visa provisions in 2022, considering the current COVID scenario?

Jan 24, 2022
migration

To boost Australia's economic recovery, the Government has eased the rules and regulations for highly skilled migrants to stay in Australia and to continue working in critical sectors, especially in health, hospitality and other essential industries.



The statement from Immigration, Citizenship, Migration Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke indicates that the new measures recognise the contribution of skilled migrants who stayed and worked in Australia during the pandemic.



Temporary and Provisional Visa Holders:

temporary-and-provisional-visa-holder

From 1st December 2021, fully vaccinated and eligible temporary and provisional visa holders can enter the country without a travel exemption.



The changes will improve access to permanent residence for:



  • Existing Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa holders in the short-term stream, and
  • Legacy Temporary Work Skilled (subclass 457) visa holders who do not meet the age requirement.

Currently, there are around 20,000 primary Temporary Skill Shortage and 457 visa holders in the country who may benefit from it.


Skilled Regional Provisional Visa Holders

Skilled-Regional-Provisional-Visa-Holders

The Government will also extend the current and expired skilled provisional visas (subclass 489, 491 and 494), providing the visa holders additional time to meet regional work requirements for PR. Currently, there are around 9,000 skilled regional provisional visa holders overseas waiting to enter Australia.



Visitor Visa Applicants

Visitor-Visa-Applicants

If your visa is expired or will expire between 1st January 2022 and 30th June 2022, you can get an extension. To support the tourism industry, the Government will extend a further six-month Visa Application Charge waiver for new visitor visa applicants overseas.



International Students

International-Students

The Government has also introduced new measures for international students and graduates, including the following:



  • Temporary Graduate visa holders who were restricted to enter Australia due to COVID-19 can apply for a replacement visa.
  • The length of stay is also extended for Temporary Graduate visa holders who are in the Masters by Coursework and Vocation Education and Training (VET) streams.
  • The requirements for Temporary Visa applicants in VET sector graduates is also simplified.
  • Existing measures are also extended for students and temporary graduates.

These are some of the significant changes that the Australian Government has made for migrants and international students to boost economic recovery after COVID-19.



If you are looking for more information or need guidance for visa application or renewal, please contact an experienced consultant at PFEC Global.



Please reach out to us at 01730785457 or 096 09 800 300 to book your appointment.

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