International Students And Temporary Visa Holders Affected By Covid-19 Border Closure Get Massive Relief

The Australian government has introduced significant changes to its Migration protocol which will make a positive impact on certain visa holders who were left offshore due to the Covid-19 border closure. Provisional and temporary visa holders will be the main beneficiaries of these changes which will enforce from 19th September 2020 onwards. These Covid-19 concessions will hopefully reduce the crisis of the visa holders who were compelled to stay outside Australia.

Important News: Temporary Visa Holders Can Return To Australia Without Any Exemptions

A Look at The Prominent Highlights

Before starting this news article, let’s have a look at the crucial highlights related to it.

• Significant changes have been made in Skilled Regional visas (887) and Temporary Graduate visa Subclass 485.
• The period of the Covid-19 exemption has started from 1st February 2020 and is basically a temporary provision.
• Certain Provisional and temporary visa holders are getting significant concessions introduced by the Australian government.

The said changes are introduced by the Australian government to allow people to resume their visa pathway if they were negatively affected by the Covid-19 border restrictions. Apart from this, the economic slump and business restrictions are considered two of the most significant reasons as well.

Must Read: Graduate Visa 485 Requirements To Study In Australia

Significant Changes To The Skilled-Regional Visa (Subclass 887)

Holders of Skilled Regional visa Subclass 887 are now entitled to several concessions introduced by the Australian government. They will get these concessions concerning their eligibility and application criteria.

• Applicants who are applying from outside Australia during the exemption period are accessible to the shorter employment and shorter residence criteria.
• Eligible holders of the 887 temporary visa can now apply from outside Australia during the exemption period and their visa will also get approved while they are outside Australia.

Before this, the picture was a bit different. Applicants were supposed to hold an eligible visa at the time of applying for a subclass visa 887. Besides, they also needed to meet two crucial criteria unfailingly. These required them to undertake a full-time job for one year and live in a regional area for the course of two years.

Privileges for The 887 Visa Holders

The changes introduced for the 887 visa holders have ensured certain privileges for them. These include the following:

• Reduction in the regional work criterion from 12 to 9 months.
• Permission to stay overseas for 6 months to meet the onshore regional residence requirement of 24 months.

Hopefully, holders of the 887 visa will get the opportunity to enter Australia once more without facing any obstacles.

Significant Changes Made for The 485 Visa Holders

Students affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions can apply and get a temporary graduate visa in Australia. This announcement was made latest on 20th July 2020. Eligible visa holders can now apply by staying outside Australia. To do so they must meet the eligibility requirements effectively.

A Look at The Eligible Applicants

Applicants will be considered eligible only after they meet all the eligibility requirements properly. Then, they can apply for their pertinent visa stream by staying outside Australia. After they meet all these requirements, their post-study work stream visa will get granted. The best part is they will get all these privileges by remaining outside the nation. Those who can get their visa approved successfully can return to Australia once again after the travel restrictions are completely lifted.

Must Read: Coronavirus Impact: FAQs for Temporary Work Visa Holders!

Additional Changes for The 485 Visa Holders

Some other crucial changes have also affected the 485 visa holders who were left offshore due to the Covid-19 restrictions. These include the following:

• The duration of the Australian Study Requirement (ASR) compliance. This is basically the period between the course completion and visa lodgement. This period has been extended from 6 months to 12 months.
• Applicants don’t need to hold a valid student visa within 6 months just before applying for their 485 visa.

These privileges will not apply to those applicants who remained offshore between certain dates. So, applicants who stayed offshore completely or partially during a particular period will get these privileges. This period has to be between 1st February and 19th September 2020.

Approval for Travel Exemptions

Applicants outside Australia can only apply for their 485 visa subclass. They can return to Australia only after the travel restrictions are lifted. In other cases, they must get their travel exemptions approved to become eligible. The date of their entry will be considered the date of their visa grant. So, they need not get a commencement date granted concerning their 485 visa subclass. Besides, changes have also been made to the visa subclass 188, 888 and 790. To get more information on matters like these contact Migration Agent Perth at ISA Migrations immediately. The experts will come forward to extend their support.