Australian Migration Law changes – July 2022
For the start of the financial year, on July 1st, the Australian government is resetting spots in their migration program, opening new opportunities for people from overseas. This financial year amongst several changes, there is a big announcement by the Department of Home Affairs – introduction of a Replacement Graduate Visa 485 for previous and current holders who were unable to stay in Australia for the full period of their previous graduate visa grant due to Covid-19 travel restrictions during 1 Feb 2020 to 14 Dec 2021.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said, “The government has already introduced several visa changes throughout the pandemic and will continue to review visa settings to support Australia’s economic recovery”.
Highlights:
- From July 1st, 2022, the Temporary skill shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa holders will find it easier to apply for permanent residency. The visa holders can apply for a Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) visa, which lets skilled workers nominated by their employer live and work permanently in Australia.
- This new pathway will only be accessible for two years from this date, and those eligible would need to have been in Australia for at least one year between 1st February 2020 and 14th December 2021.
- These changes will also apply to subclass 457 visa holders with an occupation on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL). Also, the 457 visa holders will no longer be restricted by age from applying for permanent residency through the TRT stream. Visa holders aged 45 and over previously had limited to no pathways to pursue permanent residency options. Now the change specifies no age limit to pursuing this option which will only be accessible for two years from 1st July.
- The eligibility criteria for the age exemption change are the 457 visa holders need to have held the visa from or after 18th April 2017 and should have been in Australia for at least one year between 1st February 2020, and 14th December 2021.
- The Temporary graduate visa holders who lost time due to COVID-19 travel restrictions can also apply for a replacement visa from 1st July. The eligible people must hold a valid temporary graduate visa or have previously held a temporary graduate visa that expired on or after 1st February 2020 and should have been outside of Australia between 1st February 2020 and 15th December 2021.
- The applicants are limited to just one initial subclass 485 visa, and the further visa is only available based on regional work and study.
- For the Working holiday maker visas, there will be a 30 per cent cap increase from 1st July, over the years 2022-23, and several places are available to working holiday makers from different countries, which face a cap, as part of the subclass 462 visa arrangement. From the new financial year, Mongolia and Brazil will also have access to Australia’s Working Holiday Maker visa program, and there will also be changes to age limits and caps for some countries.
The new governments approach is mainly resetting places in the migration program while presenting new opportunities for migrants. Decisions made by its previous government regarding the visa framework will continue, with some having real implications for those impacted.
Source: Australian visa changes for 2022-23 and what a new government may bring (sbs.com.au)
