Alan Tudge Highlight Partner Visa Changes, Situation of Temporary Visa Holders and Australians Stuck in India
In the plight of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge has proclaimed a few notable pieces of information. According to which, certain visa holders cannot return to Australia because of the novel Corona-virus. These include offshore students, temporary migrants, and Australian citizens.
Mr Tudge has made another announcement concerning the English language requirement of the partner visa applicants. He told that it’s entirely a racist discriminatory otherwise a revamped form of the White Australian Policy.
Important News: Onshore Applicants Get More Priority While English Language Test Is Proclaimed For Partner Visa Applicants
The Two Notable Alterations Required in Australia
Myriads of temporary visa holders are facing a severe crisis and are compelled to stay outside Australia due to COVID-19. The situation is grim and is negatively affecting their lifestyle, employment and general life to a great extent.
This is all because of the federal Australian government who aren’t willing to lift the border restrictions as of now. Considering the COVID-19 crisis, Mr Alan Tudge addressed these issues with great care and attention. He said that two significant changes would be implemented to reopen the border closures including:
- A substantial agreement from the pertinent states and territories to increase their quarantine capability. At present, Australia is allowing about 6000 people to return to Australia by air every week.
- Adequate availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mr Tudge hopes that if these alterations are being implemented, then it’ll reopen the Australian border closures successfully.
A Glimpse of The Striking Highlights
Before getting into the details, let’s look at the four prominent highlights related to this news.
- Overseas borders are supposed to remain closed till the time an effective vaccine of Corona-virus is introduced.
- Not a single flight will land in Melbourne. This is because the government of Victoria aren’t confident enough about operating a quarantine system.
- Tons of people cannot access Australia as of now. They are considering the delayed quarantine arrangements as a major hindrance.
- Mr Alan Tudge priorities the crisis of temporary visa holders in response to the COVID-19 plight. These chiefly include overseas students stuck in nations like India, etc.
To delve a little deeper, we have outlined below detailed pieces of information concerning each of these highlights.
A Look at Australia’s Migration Future
Australia has already faced the brunt of COVID-19 in several of its sectors. Aside from that, the country’s total overseas migration has been affected like anything. Mr Alan Tudge has said that it’s a record-breaking downfall which didn’t occur in the past 75 years. It is all because of the stringent border restrictions which will exist in the country for quite some time in the future.
Significant Changes Might Occur
Despite all this, Mr Tudge is hopeful about a breakthrough change in Australia’s critical condition. He said that it will happen only if a proper vaccine of the Corona-virus gets introduced in the country. He also opines that the government needs to make effective travel arrangements quickly for COVID-19 safe countries. Until these two alterations are made in Australia, the pertinent border restrictions will be continued. This again will pose dire effects on Australia’ economy, Mr. Tudge said.
Stranded International Australians
About 30,000 permanent residents and Australian citizens are stuck offshore, recent statistics say. According to which, most of the Australians are stranded in a India. So, when asked, Mr. Tudge gave an outright gratifying response. He said that the government is making proper return arrangements for them to the best of its ability. This will let the stranded Australians return to the country as quickly as possible. To get these privileges, they would, however, need to wait for their turn in line with Australia’s quarantine limitations.
Major Hindering Factors for Stranded Australians
Mr Tudge has said that even more grim factors are hindering Australians stuck in India to return to the country. One of these factors is the dearth of adequate quarantine slots in a state like Victoria. This is because most of the stranded Indian Aussies reside in this particular Australian state. The aviation department is also allotted a limited number of flights in line with Australia’s quarantine capacity.
Melbourne is No Exception
A lot of Indian-Australians cannot return to Melbourne. This is because not a single international flight is available for Melbourne. This is all because of the Victorian government’s dearth of confidence to run a quarantine system effectively, Mr Tudge retorted.
A New English Language Rule for Partner Visa Holders
Until recently, an announcement was made in the Federal Budget related to a new system for partner visa holders. According to this, applicants would have to substantiate functional-level-English imperatively. Otherwise, they need to prove that they’ve put in the best of their efforts to learn English. This rule also applies to the pertinent resident sponsors of the applicants as well.
The Significance of The New English Language Requirement
This new English language system encountered a widespread criticism from Indian applicants, Industry insiders and opposition alike. This new system would have far-reaching optimistic consequences on the applicants’ employment career. That in return would allow them to contribute significantly to the socio-economic fabric of Australia.
Additional Bits of Information
In Australia, there are presently a mere 13% of people who are serving the country’s employment sector with no English knowledge. Mr Tudge said, without fundamental English knowledge, it’s difficult to partake in Australia’s employment sector. So, it’s in response to this issue that the Australian government has introduced this new system, Mr Tudge said.
Alterations for Overseas Students
Around 200,000 international students are stranded outside the country. Amongst these students about 6,600 students are stuck in a nation like India. Each of them is distraught and is hoping for the government to resolve this issue soon. Hopefully, the Australian government will introduce prospective pilot plans shortly. This will let the myriads of students come back to Australia successfully.
Declaration of Two Significant Pilot Plans
Mr Alan Tudge has said that the government is retrieving the last-minute details from two of its major pilot-plans. These two pilot plans pertain to the South Australia government and the northern territory. It’s imperative that Australia’s overseas students come back to the country as soon as possible. The sole reason is that they ensure an income of $39 billion for the Australian economy. These pilot plans will recover and reopen a pathway for the international students in its foreseeable future.
Delayed Student Return Plans
Many student return plans are encountering an unreasonable delay in Australia, Mr Alan Tudge said. He considers the lack of proper quarantine arrangements in Victoria as the reason behind this. He has said that the two said pilot plans can be a great way to alleviate this crisis reasonably. The chief reason behind this is that Victoria is the largest hub of international students. Since there are no quarantine beds left in the state, nobody is coming here, he said. These include international students, Australian citizens and migrants alike.
Holders of Temporary Visa
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic for the past eight months, temporary visa holders haven’t remained an exception either. This has impeded them greatly to come to Australia from their pertinent native countries. These include international students, permanent residents and Australian citizens alike. Abundant quarantine slots are available in most of the Australian jurisdictions except Victoria.
The Aussie Government’s Actions
Mr Tudge stated that the increase its quarantine capacity for the stranded Australians including temporary visa holders. This means that the more quarantine beds are available, the more influx of stranded Australians will be in the country. This will also let the pertinent temporary visa holders carry on with their respective tasks in Australia. If you wish to know more on such matters, Contact Migration Agent Perth at ISA Migrations will be there to help you.