Clare O'Neil, Australia's Minister for Home Affairs (img: X/ClareONeilMP, Freepik)

Updated on Dec 16, at 3.10 p.m.

In the new immigration policy declared by the Australian authorities on Dec 11, temporary graduate visas will require an English proficiency of 6.5 bands or higher, while student visas will need a 6.0 band minimum in the International English Language Test (IELTS).

The previous requirements stood at a minimum of 6.0 and 5.5 bands, respectively, for both.

According to the India-Australia Economic Co-Operation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), the declaration was made to toughen the English test.

As per the new regulations, if the migrant’s salary is more than A$1,35,000 (₹75.06 lakh), their visa application will be put on fast track.

Additional surveillance over student visas has also been levied by the Australian government.

Indian students flock to Aussie shores

As per the data from 2022–23, a 30% surge in student inflow was observed, which stands at around 1.5 lakh students in a year. The highest influx is experienced in the vocational education and training sector.

India has the second highest inflow of students, with 95,791 of them flocking to Australia in the January to April 2023 tenure.

According to the new rules:

Updated on Dec 11, at 7 p.m.

Planning to move to Australia, UK, and Canada? Well, the revised visa strategies might affect students and Indians who desire to shift abroad.

In a bid to “fix the broken immigration system,” Australia said today that it is restricting the intake of international students and low-skilled workers by tightening the visa rules.

Clare O’Neil, Australian minister for home affairs, shared the ‘Migration Strategy’ on X today, saying, “This is a major step forward in reforming Australia’s broken migration system with the biggest reforms to migration in a generation.”

The minister added, “The new Migration Strategy will bring migration back to sustainable levels, ensuring we have the skills we need for the future and, ultimately, making sure the system is working in the interests of all Australians.”

Strict English tests for students?

As per the Migration Strategy document, the new commitments aim to increase English language requirements to improve the quality of students’ educational experiences in Australia and reduce potential workplace exploitation.

It will apply greater and more targeted scrutiny to student visa applications from high-risk providers.

The policy will strengthen requirements for international education providers and restrict onshore visa hopping that undermines system integrity and drives ‘permanent temporariness’.

The Australian government also plans to strengthen and simplify temporary graduate visas.

The decision comes after record net immigration reflected up to 5.10 lakh in 2022-23. O’Neil said the increase in net overseas migration in 2022-23 was mostly driven by international students.

Official data showed it was forecast to fall to about a quarter of a million in 2024-25 and 2025-26, roughly in line with pre-Covid levels, as per reports.

1,18,869 Indian students are studying in Australia as of July 2023, according to the statistics portal, Statista. 

According to the website of the ministry of home affairs of Australia, 7,10,380 Indian-origins had settled in Australia by June 2021, while this figure was 3,37,120 in June 2011. 

After Britain, Australia has the largest number of people of Indian origin. Meanwhile, Canada and Britain have also tightened visa rules.

Canada’s immigration rules

On the other hand, Canadian immigration minister Marc Miller announced on Dec 8 that starting from Jan 1, 2024, international students who wish to study in Canada will need to show they have access to CA$20,635 (₹12,66,979) instead of the CA$10,000 (₹6,13,995) requirement that has been in place for two decades.

India was the first among the top ten origin countries of study permit holders in 2022 in Canada, with a total of 3,19,000 students.

Working in the UK becomes tougher

An estimated 3,00,000 non-Britons– many of them Indians– were affected by the British government raising the bar for people eligible to apply for skilled worker visas for the United Kingdom. The minimum salary that an applicant must now command is £38,700, up from £26,000 in effect from Dec 4. 

Earlier this year, tougher rules were announced for students bringing dependents to the UK, where undergraduate students are no longer allowed to bring their partners or children.

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