How will Australia’s new immigration policy affect Pakistanis?

Australia’s government has recently announced a ’10-year migration strategy’, as the country plans to reduce the number of foreigners coming in over the next two years in a bid to improve Australia’s “challenged” immigration system.

It should be noted that according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of foreign immigrants who came to the country during the last year has been 500,000, while before the restrictions of COVID-19 were implemented, this number used to be around 250,000 annually. The government wants to halve the number now.

The announcement was made on Monday and it is likely to affect foreign students living in Australia on temporary visas the most.

Speaking to the BBC, Sydney-based Dr. Ayesha Jahangir, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Media Transitions at the University of Technology, covered the ongoing debate on the policy and the general climate around Australia’s migration strategy. She asserted that it has been some time since the policy was announced so “there is a lot of uncertainty and people are confused.” She said that the main questions around the debate are, “They don’t understand how this policy can affect them. Will immigrants whose visas are still being processed be affected?
What are the details of the ’10-year migration strategy’?

According to official data, there are about six and a half million foreign students currently living in Australia and most of them are staying here after obtaining a second visa after the first temporary visa (student visa) expires.

Under the new plan, visa rules for international students and low-skilled workers will be tightened even though there is still a shortage of skilled workers in the country and difficulties in bringing them into the country persist.

Issuance of “Skills in Demand” visa

It is for this reason that the ‘Skills in Demand’ visa will be issued in place of the earlier ‘Temporary Skills Shortage’ visa. There will be three different routes for this four-year visa.

One route would be for people with ‘specialist skills’ and would seek to attract the most talented people from technology and energy sectors to Australia.

Another way would be in terms of ‘core skills’, where the list of areas would be changed according to the demand of the Australian market. In this way, the manpower shortage will be met.

A third way is in terms of ‘essential skills’ i.e. sectors such as healthcare where there is a shortage of workers. Details regarding this are still under consideration as per the policy.

Conditions for International Students

These new rules set stricter standards for international students in English language tests, mainly IELTS.

Earlier IELTS band required for a graduate visa was 6, now it has been increased to 6.5. While the IELTS requirement for a student visa has been increased from 5.5 to 6.

Additional questions will be asked of second-time visa applicants. During this time they have to prove how further studies will help them to improve their career or their education.

Visa procedures have also been improved for immigrants with ‘special’ or ‘essential’ skills to give them a better chance of securing permanent residence.

The new policy aims to stop the exploitation of those already living, working, and studying in the country.

Mention of “bogus” colleges

The Australian government has used the term ‘backdoor’ repeatedly in the 99-page strategy, implying various ‘bogus’ colleges that bring students to Australia but then return their degrees. These ‘fake’ colleges have been talked about before, from Australian local newspapers to the government level, but this time the government is signaling a concerted crackdown.

Dr. Ayesha has also warned about them in her talk to BBC: “What happens is that these colleges or institutions help bring students to Australia, but they don’t find a place in the workforce here because the competition here is not just between the people of a town or a city, but between people from all over the world.” Ayesha further added, “These migrants usually do not fit into the system but become a burden, and the term ‘permanently transient’ is used for them.”

Stats reveal that there is a huge number of them living in Australia and are trapped because they never got admitted to the university and are making a living by working in menial jobs.

Rising cost of living in Australia and financial crisis for incoming students

The cost of living in Australia has increased and rental housing has become difficult to find. Students have to live far from their place of work or study.

Talking to BBC, a Pakistani student said that in this policy, students will now only be able to work 20 hours per week instead of 40. This is the discount that was given to them during COVID-19. He pointed out that rents have gone up in Australia. Now the problem that more students will face will be a financial crisis, they will face problems in paying their fees.

“Earlier, we used to make at least 1500 dollars by doing any work for 40 hours a week, of which we used to save up to 1000 dollars and save 4000 dollars a month and thus pay the fees,” he added.

An increase in rent and a reduction in work hours will affect the students badly.

Rising hostility toward migrants

“When governments talk about people entering the country through backdoors and taking advantage of loopholes in the system, society can see it differently,” Dr Ayesha stated.

In the past during the years 2008 and 2009, Indian students in Australia protested crimes committed against them in the country, leading to a diplomatic gulf between Australia and India.

Dr Ayesha says that the government should go and explain to Australians that this crackdown is not being done because it is the fault of the foreign students, but because even local small businesses are taking advantage of these loopholes in the policy.