Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has announced that annual migration intake will be cut by 30,000 places in an attempt to manage populations and reduce congestion on Australian roads.
Last year, 87% of the 112,000 skilled migrants who arrived in Australia chose to settle in Sydney and Melbourne.
This new federal government population plan seeks to force students and skilled workers out of the major cities and into regional Australia.
According to Immigration Minister, David Coleman, there will be 23,000 extra regional skilled visas available to skilled migrants.
Skilled migrants that live and work in a regional area for three years will be given the opportunity to apply for permanent residency.
The Prime Minister believes that there will be very high compliance to these new visa conditions, as it presents an opportunity for migrants to fast track their pathway to permanent residency.
Mr Morrison stated that, ‘If people don’t comply, they won’t get permanent residency and they will not be allowed to settle in Australia.’
Each year, there will be 1000 tertiary scholarships worth $15,000 allocated to international students that choose to attend university in regional areas.
Another incentive offered to international students will be the chance to work in Australia for an extra year after they graduate from the regional university they attended.
Population Minister, Alan Tudge, believes that moving skilled migrant workers and students from major cities to smaller cities will be beneficial to regional communities that desperately need more people.
Currently, there is an estimated 47,000 job vacancies in regional Australia that need to be filled.
“Matching skills of new migrants with the skill shortages in rural and regional Australia will be the key to the success of this approach,” stated Mr Morrison.
The number of employer-sponsored skilled visas offered will increase slightly to 39,000, while there will be no changes to the family stream of the migration program and will remain at 48,000 visas.
In the next four years, the government is said to slash annual migration intake by 15%, from 190,000 to 160,000 places.
If have any questions or concerns regarding these new changes, please contact our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents. Call Results Migration a call on 1800 808 717 or email us on [email protected] and book your free consultation today!
