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Australia's latest visa move favors migrants already inside the country for permanent residency. Will Indians benefit?
Australia prioritizes skilled migration applications for temporary visa holders already residing in the country, to reduce net overseas migration.
Australia is changing the way it processes skilled migration applications, giving priority to temporary visa holders already living and working in the country over applicants applying from overseas. While the move is aimed at reducing net overseas migration, it could reshape the pathway to permanent residency for thousands of Indian students.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke last week issued a new ministerial direction that changes the order in which skilled visa applications are processed, according to a report by ABC News. Under the revised priorities, migrants already in Australia on temporary visas will move to the front of the queue for permanent residency, while new offshore applicants are expected to wait longer.
The government says the change will help reduce net overseas migration without cutting the size of the permanent migration program.
Why Australia is making the change
The Albanese government has come under growing political pressure to bring down migration numbers. Net overseas migration stood at 301,000 last year, down from its post-pandemic peak of 556,000 in September 2022, but still well above the government's target of 225,000.
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The May Budget had already signaled the shift, with 70% of Australia's 185,000 permanent migration places reserved for people already in the country. By granting permanent residency to temporary migrants who are already counted in Australia's population, the government expects to reduce net migration figures without significantly altering the overall migration intake.
Alan Gamlen, director of the ANU Migration Hub, told ABC News that prioritizing onshore applicants allows the government to reduce the backlog of temporary visas while giving preference to migrants who are already contributing to the Australian economy. He said the country still has a record 432,300 people on bridging visas, highlighting persistent processing bottlenecks.
Key sectors move up the queue
The revised direction also changes industry priorities. Workers in defense and law enforcement-related occupations linked to the AUKUS partnership will receive top priority, followed by applicants in construction, healthcare and aged care. These sectors are considered critical to Australia's economic and strategic interests.
Former immigration deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said the policy would make only a modest contribution to reducing net overseas migration but reflected the government's broader effort to reduce the number of people remaining in Australia on temporary visas for long periods.
What it means for Indians
For Indian students planning to study in Australia, the long-term pathway to permanent residency may increasingly depend on securing employment and remaining in the country after graduation rather than applying from overseas.
While the government's latest move does not change visa eligibility rules, it signals a shift in processing priorities that could favor Indian graduates already living and working in Australia over those yet to begin their journey.
