The most significant changes in the Australian immigration system will take effect this year. The issue of growing congestion in Melbourne and Sydney has made the Federal government announced in the month of March this year to cut off Australia’s annual permanent immigration intake from 190,000 which was capped since 2011 to 160,000 this year.

This impact will be taken up by the Skilled Independent visas which allowed people to work and live anywhere in Australia. The subclass quota (annual) has been reduced to nearly 18,000 from 43,000 – this move has created worry in the temporary residents of Australia, that it might force them to a prolonged temporary residence period. The government of Australia also declared that the cap will be maintained for the coming four years.  

The cut-off points for high demand occupations have also increased. The new applicants willing to file their Expression of Interest (EOI) need to get higher points to secure an invite. High demand occupations include engineering, accounting and IT professionals who will now require a minimum 85 to 95 points to get an invitation.

To understand which immigration program/stream is appropriate for you, and to get further details on any of the on-going immigration programs in Canada and Australia, kindly check with our experts.

If you are planning to immigrate, feel free to contact our advisors and get your eligibility checked. ISA Global is the leading immigration consultant in India and we have helped thousands of our clients to settle in countries like Canada and Australia.