Immigration Policies Affected By Some Notable Visa Changes Occurring from January 2021

The predicament of Covid-19 has resulted in some significant immigration and policy alterations. Most of these changes are supposed to be executed in the year 2021 which will likely to affect several visa holders in Australia. They majorly include elderly parents, partners, skilled migrants and that of offshore students. These visa holders are either wanting to migrate to Australia forever or simply wish to pay a visit.

Important News: Reopening and Final Allocations Updated For Skilled Visa Nomination Programs 2020-21

A Glimpse of the Prominent Highlights

Before diving deeper into this particular news article, it’s better to focus light on some of its notable highlights. A brief introduction to each of them can be considered below.

Temporary visa holders and overseas students might face an abrupt visa cancellation for violating the bio-security protocol. This rule will come into effect from 1st January 2021
A new English language criterion has been introduced for applicants of partner visas. The same rule applies to the sponsors of these partner applicants which will come into effect during 2021’s end and
The nomination programs for skilled visas are supposed to open once more from January 2021.

The Australian government was compelled to bring these remarkable changes in light of the Covid-19 crisis. Now it’s time for everyone to await the effective implementation of these changes.

A Detailed Overview of The Noteworthy Aspects

Hopefully, the highlights given above have ignited your curiosity to learn about the various 2021 immigration and policy changes. So, without wasting time anymore, let’s get started.

New English Language Criterion for Applicants of Partner Visas

Permanent resident applicants and their pertinent sponsors are required to prove optimal English language proficiency. This criterion was stated by the government of Australia in October this year. The primary motive to do so was to intensify job opportunities for migrants who have newly turned up in Australia. Even if they cannot meet this criterion, they must prove that they made the best of their endeavors to learn this particular language. Applicants will need to comply with the English language requirement while their visa is being approved.

Additional Information

The partner visa is comprised of a process of two individual stages. During the first stage, you will be granted a temporary visa to stay in Australia for the time being. Subsequently, during the second stage, you’ll qualify to obtain a permanent visa in Australia successfully. According to this new English language criterion, applicants and their sponsors will have to prove their English language during a particular time. This condition requires them to meet the requirement while applying for the visa and not while lodging the same. This particular criterion is expected to be executed during belated 2021.

Alterations for Applicants who are applying for family visas

The ScoMo government proclaimed some provisional alterations in November 2020 on the family visa program. The chief motive to do so was to aid and support applicants who have been impacted by the plight of Covid-19. This is a mere temporary arrangement which will be implemented during the initial phase of 2021. According to this privilege, applicants of the family visa will no longer have to travel abroad to get their visa approved. The provisional arrangement specifically applies to candidates who have applied for their visa by staying offshore.

The Merits of The Temporary Arrangement for Family Visa applicants

There are certain advantages which applicants of the family visa can expect from the temporary arrangement stated above. First of all, despite their incapability to travel offshore, they can optimise their visa pathway effectively. It will be particularly beneficial for those who have been stranded offshore by the international border restrictions.

The repercussion of these border restrictions culminated its pinnacle and led to the suspension of the visa regulation which was termed as ‘arbitrary and archaic’. Couples waiting for their visa approval have been severely affected as a result of this suspension by the Opposition.

Business Migrants Face Even More Stringent Rules and Criteria

The Aussie government has proclaimed the exclusion of a couple of investment and business visa streams. As per this announcement, the existing nine visa streams will come down to a number as less as four. These chiefly include the following:

The Significant Investor Visa
Investor Visa
Entrepreneur Visa and
The Business Innovation Visa

The ScoMo government is hoping that this endeavor will aid in the process of the economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. These alterations have predominantly impacted the applicants of the Business Innovation Visa. This is because from now on (in January 2021) the requirements of this visa stream have been ramped up. As a result, business aspirants will find it way more challenging to substantiate their business caliber to the Australian government.

Business Visas, Global Talent and Employer-Sponsored Visa are Prioritized more

The federal government of Australia made quite a significant announcement as part of its budget proclamation in October 2020. As per this announcement, the job creators, investors and that of innovators will be given more priority than before. The target of the visas is comprised of professionals about certain categories which include the following:

Creators of Australian Jobs
Growers of Australian Businesses
People who are aiming to boost up the dire condition of the Australian economy in an effective manner.

However, preference will be specifically given to the Global Talent comprising the Skilled stream of Australia. Other categories like the Employer-Sponsored and the Business Innovation and Investment Program will be given equal priority too.

The Nomination Programs About the Skilled Visas will Reopen in January 2021

As per the Australian government’s proclamation, the nomination programs of the skilled Australian visas will reopen once more. The application invitations are supposed to commence from the early phase of 2021. This alteration is a result of the final distributions issued by the Department of Home Affairs. As a result, the remainder of this visa program in the year of 2020-2021 led to the reopening of this visa stream once again.

Some Unprecedented Challenges

By the interim visa program, the aforesaid visa program has quite naturally faced several challenges. Besides, it can also be presumed that these challenges are a result of the Covid-19 crisis. The chief focus will be on applicants who can help the Australian territories and that of states. As a result, it will aid the Aussie government to overcome the economic slump triggered by the predicament of Coronavirus.

Temporary Visa Concession

As part of the immigration and policy changes, the Australian government has announced a provisional visa concession as well. According to this privilege, a foreign citizen will be able to optimize the same. Again, the person has to be a partner of a citizen of Australia who can progress their visa subclass effectively. All this and many more that also without having to leave Australia at all. Holders of only the following visa categories are entitled to this provisional visa concession. These include the following:

So, are you also the holder of any of the visa sub-classes stated above? If so, then, you will be able to make the best use of the temporary visa concession provided by the Australian government.

Overseas Students Residing in Regional Australia will get one to two years more

Certain applicants of the Temporary Graduate Visa 485 will qualify for another TGV in 2021. As per this announcement, applicants meeting the following criteria will get this privilege. These include the following:

The applicants should have resided in regional Australia for the specified period and
They should have obtained their pertinent qualifications from a regional academic institution in Australia.

Besides, certain communities and universities are undergoing a reasonable financial crunch in regional Australia. These institutions can certainly benefit from the incentive which the Australian government is providing. By doing so, they will be able to overcome the gargantuan job loss and the financial crisis together triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Implementation of the Big visa incentive

International students of Australia will be able to avail the big visa incentive in 2021. Aside, the post-study visa arrangements have been extended for overseas graduates of regional Australia. This endeavor has resulted in making overseas students eligible for an additional incentive. The duration of the second TGV will be decided according to the place of residence and studies of the offshore students on their first TGV. To get more information on such matters, feel free to contact Registered Migration Agent Perth at ISA Migrations to get the best assistance.

Inquire Now