After Mr. Donald Trump gave his verdict on the skilled workers from foreign countries working in the United States of America, now Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Malcolm Turnbull also has tried to follow in the very same footsteps. The 457 Visa programme, that allowed Australian businesses to employ foreign workers for a period of up to four years, has been discontinued as of today.
“We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa, the visa that brings temporary foreign workers into our country,” said the Australian Prime Minister at a press conference, yesterday. Unfortunately for Indians, majority of the 457 visa holders are from the Indian subcontinent, followed by those from the UK and China.
Australia will be adopting an Australians first approach, however, that does not mean that there will be no provision for foreign nationals to get employed at Australian businesses. “It is important businesses still get access to the skills they need to grow and invest, so the 457 visa will be replaced by a new temporary visa, specifically designed to recruit the best and brightest in the national interest,” Turnbull said.
- The difference would be a higher number of restrictions on foreign visas and these will evidently be coming into effect starting March, 2018. These proposed changes in the visa programme, as far as can be found out are as follows:
- The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa, as it will be called from now, instead of the 457 visa, will be coming into effect from March, 2018.
- The Temporary Skill Shortage visa will have two streams- a short term stream, which will be valid up to two years, and a medium term stream, which will be valid up to four years.
- The abolishment of the 457 visa and installation of the TSS visa in its place will most likely have a negative impact on the existing subclass visa 186.
- The capacity of onshore visa renewal will be cut down to a maximum of only one, under the short term stream.
Tighter English language and Work experience requirements will be regulated. - Applicant age will be reduced to a maximum of 45 years at the time of application to procure the TSS visa to Australia.
- Stricter review of Australian skilled occupation list will come into effect immediately to ensure that Australian workers are not being undercut by employers due to pay and Tax issues.
- Employers will be made to pay the Australian market rate, strictly, and they must meet the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold.
- Collection of Tax File numbers and matching of data to Australian Tax office records will be strictly undertaken by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Although most of the reforms will be coming into effect post March, 2018, The reviews will be undertaken immediately.
If planning to undertake an employment opportunity in Australia, it is advisable to connect or talk to experts about this matter immediately, so as to take the necessary decisions as well as precautions before venturing further. For consultation purposes, visit https://immigrationxperts.com/.
