October 12th, 2024 at 04:33 am

Australia 6 Strict Visa Changes in 2024 to Control Immigration | Australia Visa Update

In 2024, Australia enacted stringent revisions to its visa policies that might potentially affect international students, immigrants, and immigrant families. What are the new visa regulations, and how can they impact you?

This blog provides an overview of Australia’s tightened visa regulations for 2024, which include more stringent requirements for skilled professionals, students, and immigrant families. These adjustments aim to strengthen Australia’s immigration system’s integrity while addressing issues including exploitation and a lack of skilled workers.

1. Tougher Rules on Temporary Visas

In Australia, there are increasingly stricter rules governing temporary visas, particularly the popular Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visa. In 2024, the Australian government enacted new regulations to ensure that people on temporary visas are only hired for jobs where there is a genuine need for their expertise.

According to a new government rule, businesses must now demonstrate that they have intentionally attempted to hire Australians before looking abroad. This entails advertising employment positions locally for a set period before inviting overseas applicants.

These stricter rules also come with a new compliance system that exposes companies who break the requirements of the Visa to fines or maybe lose their future ability to sponsor employees.

2. Stricter English Language Requirements

In 2024, Australia increased the language proficiency requirements for many visa applications, particularly for skilled migration and student visas. The Australian government wants to facilitate immigrants’ assimilation into the country’s workforce and society. Applicants now need to get better scores on recognized English language tests, such as the PTE or IELTS.

The people most affected by this are skilled migrants and international students, as many of them now have to meet these higher requirements to be eligible for certain visas.

3. Changes to the Partner Visa Pathway

In 2024, the Australian government imposed a rule mandating character and security checks for applicants of Partner Visas at an earlier phase of the application procedure. In the past, character and background investigations were often carried out following the submission of the visa application.

But in 2024, the government advanced these exams, so applicants must complete them before they can even submit a visa application.

This will speed up the processing process and enable the faster identification of those with criminal histories or security concerns. The objective is to expedite the process by excluding unfit applicants at an early stage; nonetheless, this has resulted in a more rigorous partner visa application process.

4. Student Visa Restrictions and Stricter Compliance

The Australian government has announced new restrictions on visitors and temporary graduate visa holders, who will no longer be able to apply for a student visa while in the country. This latest policy unfairly penalizes the many legitimate students who come to Australia as tourists first and then decide they want to study there.

The government reports that between July 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, there were over 36,000 applications for the tourist to student track, showing a growing trend in Australia. Furthermore, the government of Australia has tightened restrictions to ensure that the students are abiding by the terms of their visas in light of the rise in the number of international students studying there.

Students must now maintain good attendance and grades or risk having their visas revoked.

5. Closure of Business Innovation and Investment Visa

There would be no more appointments made by the Australian government for the Business Innovation and Investment program. A new Talent and Innovation Visa was being considered as part of the migration policy, and by the end of 2024, the New National Innovation Visa will be available.

The Department of Home Affairs has not accepted any more applications for the Subclass 188 Visa since July 2024, marking the end of the program. According to the migration assessment, Australia’s economy is not benefiting much from this policy.

6. Higher Salary Threshold for Employer-sponsored Visas

An additional noteworthy adjustment is the raising of the wage threshold for employer-sponsored visas. For skilled workers sponsored by Australian companies, the minimum salary has risen significantly. Since the wage criteria had not been updated in years, they were increased as of 2024 to reflect Australia’s rising cost of living and pay standards.

This suggests that employers who want to hire foreign labor will now have to pay more. This modification is meant to avoid underpaying foreign workers and to stop hiring overseas from bringing down local wages.