Indian skilled workers needed in IT, hospitality in Australia, says Oz envoy to India

Harinder Sidhu, the Australian High Commissioner to India, said on 19 May that their country would need skilled Indian workers in IT and hospitality sectors to keep coming in and added that the new work visa norms of Australia would not affect Indians. After Australia scrapped it the 457 work visas in April, it raised apprehensions in India as most of them using that visa were Indians. Sidhu was quoted by the Times of India as telling it that the 457 work visa has not been discontinued, but was being replaced by two different types of temporary visas – a two-year short-term visa and a four-year medium-term visa. She said that jobs bagged by Indians in their country require skills that are in short supply in Australia. She added that she expected that the impact that would be felt by abolishing of 457 visas on India was minimal. Indians with skills will keep arriving in Australia, she said. Sidhu said that the reforms in the visa norms were a component of rationalising the Australian visa system and a continuing review. In response to a question, she stated that their government has not made any changes to student visas.  The number of Indians arriving in Australia for education has surged dramatically in the last few years, she said, as they increased from 46,000 in 2014 to 60,000 in 2016. She said that Australia had received a record number of applications even in 2017. If you are looking to migrate to Australia, get in touch with Registered Migration Agent to apply for a visa.