Complete guide on Australia visa changes 2024-25

Highlights: Complete guide on Australia visa changes 2024-25

• The federal government announced changes to Australian visas will affect those currently studying and working in Australia and those who wish to apply.
• Some of the changes have already taken effect, and some will take effect on 1 July 2024.
• Six changes are going to come into effect from 1 July.
• A New National Innovation Visa will be introduced as a combination and replacement for Global Talent and the BIIP visa.

 

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The visa changes effecting from 1 July

 

Visa Ballot Process

The government will introduce the pre-application ballot process for specific kinds of visas. From 1 July, some countries like China, Vietnam, and India who want to apply for a working holiday visa in Australia first have to apply for one of the limited numbers of places through the ballot with application fees of $25.

 

If selected, they can apply for the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462). The ballot will replace the first-come first-serve system, which government says will make the process fairer and more efficient.

 

The reason to implement this rule was because the Work and Holiday visa has a cap for different countries:

 

• Vietnam: This country will have 1500 places reserved
• India: It is yet to be declared but expected to be set at 1,000
• China: This country will have 5,000 places to be reserved

 

The pre-application ballot will also be implemented for new visas for young professionals from India.

 

*Want to apply for Working Holiday visa? Talk to Y-Axis for complete guidance.

 

Introducing a new visa for young Indian Professionals

Indian nationals aged 18-30 and qualified in technology fields will be eligible for new temporary visas for up to two years. The program is named MATES, which stands for Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme.

 

The pilot program has 3000 places from primary applicants with qualifications in renewable energy, mining, engineering, information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology, and agricultural technology.

 

Candidates who have won a place in the ballot process can apply for a visa for a $365 fee. The immediate family members will not be included on this visa, nor will they be counted in the 3,000-place cap.

 

Onshore student visa applications

The range of measures affecting international students has already been enacted this year. The government is tightening restrictions on who can apply for Australian visas. From 1 July, some visas will no longer be allowed to apply for visas within Australia, such as:

 

• Temporary Graduates (Subclass 485)
• Visitor (Subclass 600)
• Electronic Travel Authority (Subclass 601)
• Medical Treatment (Subclass 602)
• eVisitor (Subclass 651)
• Maritime crew (Subclass 988)

 

Temporary Graduate visas

The length of stay for Temporary Graduate visa (TGV) holders is being reduced, and a new age limit is being imposed. The Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 486) is being introduced with four new streams into three and reknown as:

 

• Graduate work stream: This visa is renamed as Post-Vocational Education Work stream
• Post-Study Work Stream: This visa is renamed as Post-Higher Education stream
• Second Post-Study Work Stream: This visa is renamed as the Second Post-Higher Education Work stream
• Replacement Stream: This visa is removed from the list

 

Other than that, the age limit is reduced to 35 years of age or under. The PhD or master's degree holders will be eligible until the age of 50. Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will also still be eligible until the age of 50.

 

The length of stay doesn't change for TGV holders in the Post-vocational Education Work stream; it remains up to eighteen months.

 

For those who are in Post –Higher Education Work stream, the length of stay changes to:

 

• Candidates, who will complete a bachelor's degree, including honors, can stay till two years
• Candidates who would be completing their Masters the maximum stay of up to two years
• Candidates who are pursuing PhD can stay for three years

 

The length of stay will differ for TGV holders who graduated from a regional education institution and have lived in a regional area for at least two years. The initial stay for the Indian nationals won't change.

 

Want to apply for Temporary graduate visa? Talk to Y-Axis for complete guidance.

 

Temporary Skills visas

There are changes to migrants' conditions on some temporary visas, and they will have longer to make arrangements if they stop working with the sponsoring employer. The changes will affect holders of the following visas:

 

• Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457)
• Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482)
• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) (subclass 494)

 

Applicants will have a longer time to find a new sponsor who wants to apply for different visas or leave Australia:

 

• 180 days at a time, or
• Maximum of 365 days in total across the entire visa grant period

 

Applicants who are visa holders can work for other employers at that time. The change applies to existing visa holders and those granted a visa after 1 July.

 

Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)

The government is closing Business Innovation and Investment (provisional visa) Subclass 188, which allows visa holders to own, manage, or conduct their business and investment activities and undertake entrepreneurial activities in Australia. 

 

No new allocations will be provided for the BIIP from 1 July; instead, the National Innovation visa will be available at the end of 2024.  

 

*Want to apply for Subclass 888 visa? Talk to Y-Axis for complete guidance.

 

Other changes that will take place in 2024

 

Skills in Demand visa

A significant commitment to the Migration strategy is the creation of skills-in-demand visas, which the government will introduce at the end of 2024.

 

The four-year temporary skills worker visa is intended to replace the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482), which currently permits holders to live in Australia while working full-time for a sponsoring employer.

 

The Skills in Demand visa targets three pathways:

 

• Specialist Skills: High-earning professionals with skills in technology and the green energy industry will get fast-track applications.
• Core skills: This focuses on areas with shortages to simplify the application process and create an occupation list designed to be regularly updated
• Essential Skills: This focuses on targets lower-paid workers in critical sectors like aged care

 

A New National Innovation Visa

The government has not provided many details about this visa yet, but it is intended to attract high-performing researchers and investors. It will combine and replace the Global Talent and the BIIP.

 

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