Getting permanent residencey in Oz won't be easy: Minister

Getting a permanent residency in Australia may not be easy any more for Indians taking the route of vocational courses with the Australian government reviewing its immigration policy to encourage migration of only those skilled workers that the country required.

Getting a permanent residency in Australia may not be easy any more for Indians taking the route of vocational courses with the government there reviewing its immigration policy to encourage migration of only those skilled workers the country required.

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"We are reviewing the policy on migrants. Our government will adjust the policy based on the needs of the country and not be driven by the education choices of overseas students," Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Evans said in the Capital.

Evans, who is here to inform New Delhi about steps being taken to ensure safety of Indian students in Australia in the backdrop of recent attacks, made it clear that there would not be any automatic link between study in the country and access to permanent residency.

Thousands of Indian students take admission in vocational courses like cookery and hairdressing in Australian institutions to get permanent residency of the country.

He said the outcome of the review will focus on Australia's skill needs in the future and encourage priority to migrants with high value and high quality such as those involved in medical and engineering fields.

"The priorities for migration must be the needs of the Australian economy. Therefore, the skills and the qualifications we seek in migrants will vary over time," he said at an interaction at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.