Good News: Australia Latest Information on Immigration
Australia is one of the few western countries that has managed the Covid-19 crisis well.
Australia has a population of about 25 million people. As of this date, about 6890 cases have been diagnosed in Australia. 6,000 patients have fully recovered. Unfortunately, 97 infected persons died.
Like all other countries in the world, Australia’s economy has been seriously affected and the number of unemployed people has increased during this pandemic. As one of the world’s largest immigration countries, Australia’s immigration related industry has also been affected. Many interested migration clients are concerned that it would be more difficult to come to Australia in the near future.
Australia’s Prime Minister Morrison announced at a recent press conference to confirm that Australia ’s permanent residence immigration quota will not change, and it will remain at 160,000 per year. Official information seems to suggest that the number of overseas net immigrants will fall by 30% this fiscal year, and will continue to plummet by up to 85% in the next fiscal year.
Since the forecasts show an expected decline in immigrants in the next few years, and the Prime Minister has confirmed that government will maintain the current quota for this year, this maybe good news for all prospective immigrants. Here is my analysis, let me briefly explain.
First, according to Brendan Murphy, Chief Medical Officer of Australia, it will take at least three to four months to re-open the Australian border. Australia’s top source countries for immigration such as China, India and UK have all been seriously affected by the current pandemic crisis. In the past two months and the forthcoming few months, there has been and will continue to be near zero new arrivals of skilled visa workers from these countries and around the world. Remember, these countries have traditionally provided a large number of skilled workers and migrants to Australia.
Second, Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said last week more than 300,000 temporary visa holders have already left Australia since the start of the year. This is not an insignificant number. Many of these temporary visa holders may not return. While this may have a negative impact on immigration related industry such as schools and businesses, the reality is that many of those who left would not be applying for immigration to Australia in the near future, therefore the pool of skilled workers pending for application will not be quickly replenished.
Third, the cursory review of migration business shows many prospective applicants have delayed their application process. The main reasons are their business has been affected and international travelling to Australia is currently near impossible. In all likelihood the number of new immigration applicants to Australian will continue to decline in the next three or four months and it will be significantly lower than previous years as stated by the Prime Minister.
Fourth, since the permanent residence quota remains the same, and the number of immigrants has dropped significantly, which means that the applicant who is able to apply NOW has an increased chance of being approved compared to before. Let’s imagine a scenario where an employer is trying to hire 10 new employees. In previous recruitment drive the employer would have attracted a thousand applicants competing for these 10 positions. However, during this crisis there are only 100 applicants applied for these 10 positions. If you are one of the applicants who successfully submitted the application, your chances have just been increased ten folds compared to previous years.
In Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ (危机)is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. As we have reiterated this on different occasions in these past months, what appears to be bad news could be a blessing in disguise for others.
For more information please contact Goodmove Consulting or our local agents.