Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
International

New visa rules for Indian students in Australia, work-hour cap from July 1

Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Jun, 2023 11:37 AM
  • New visa rules for Indian students in Australia, work-hour cap from July 1

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Beginning July 1, Indian graduates studying in Australian tertiary institutions will be able to apply for work without visa sponsorship for up to eight years.

In addition, the allowable work-hour cap for international students will be increased from 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight, along with a two-year work visa extension.

Earlier this month, India and Australia signed a migration and mobility partnership pact to open up opportunities for students, academic researchers and business people.

Coming under this pact, the Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) will make 3,000 annual spots available for young professionals from India, allowing them to spend two years in the country without requiring visa sponsorship.

As a temporary visa programme, MATES includes graduates from recognised Indian universities with degrees in specialised fields of study.

The eligible fields of occupation for the MATES Visa, include engineering, mining, financial technology, artificial intelligence, information and communication technology, agricultural technology and renewable energy.

To be eligible for the MATES visa program, candidates must be below the age of 31, should have obtained their education from a recognised and verified university, and must be at the early stages of their careers.

The fee and visa processing time for the MATES visa is yet to be announced.

Australia said this April that it intends to overhaul its immigration system to speed up getting highly skilled workers into the country.

In a bid to lure skilled migrants, the government said the visa process for high-skilled professionals will be made swift and easy, and steps would be taken to retain international students.

Also, starting July 1, the allowable work-hour cap for international students will be increased from 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight, along with a two year work visa extension.

The revised cap will help international students to support themselves through their studies, while maintaining study as the primary purpose of their visa.

Student visa work restrictions were relaxed throughout the pandemic, and they were completely removed in January 2022 to allow primary and secondary student visa holders to work over their normal limit of 40 hours per fortnight to address workforce shortages.

The government also announced that a two-year extension of post-study work rights is available for international graduates with select degrees that are in areas of verified skill shortage.

This extension will give eligible international higher education graduates an additional two years on their Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). The extension is in addition to the existing additional one to two years of work rights for eligible students who study, live, and work in regional areas.

For select Bachelor degrees, post-study work rights will be increased from two to four years, three to five years for select Masters degree, and four to six years for all doctoral qualifications.

There are 1,00,009 Indian students studying across various Australian universities, according to a 2022 Ministry of External Affairs data.

MORE International ARTICLES

Protests, waning patience test U.S. restrictions

Protests, waning patience test U.S. restrictions
Massachusetts and New York are the latest Democrat-led states to ease mask mandates, despite evidence that the surge in the Omicron variant is not yet over.

Protests, waning patience test U.S. restrictions

Indian descent man sentenced for sexually abusing boy on plane

Indian descent man sentenced for sexually abusing boy on plane
Judge Nancy E. Brasel handed down the sentence to Neeraj Chopra, 41, in a federal court in Minneapolis, acting prosecutor Charles J. Kovats said on Friday. He was found guilty in July of the incident in April 2019 but sentenced only this month.

Indian descent man sentenced for sexually abusing boy on plane

Nagara Foundation halts gurdwara renovation work in Pakistan

Nagara Foundation halts gurdwara renovation work in Pakistan
Satpreet Singh, Director of Ranjit Nagara Foundation, revealed that as per US rules, their foundation has to provide documentation of their expenditure to Internal Revenue Service, Department of Justice, annually which is further updated on the department's site for public or on before May 15, but the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) office has not provided the requisite documents till date. 

Nagara Foundation halts gurdwara renovation work in Pakistan

British Sikh Association lauds BJP govt for welfare measures

British Sikh Association lauds BJP govt for welfare measures
Amid heightened activities by Khalistanis, the UK Sikh community has started to push back against anti-India forces. At the heart of this push back is Southall in London, which remains among the largest hubs of the Sikh community in the UK and has a distinction of hosting UK's largest and most prominent gurdwaras.

British Sikh Association lauds BJP govt for welfare measures

Omicron causing hospitalisations, deaths worldwide: WHO

Omicron causing hospitalisations, deaths worldwide: WHO
Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has topped 333.5 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.55 million and vaccinations to over 9.68 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Omicron causing hospitalisations, deaths worldwide: WHO

Two Indians killed in Abu Dhabi blast identified

Two Indians killed in Abu Dhabi blast identified
The embassy officials are also in touch with the immediate family members of the deceased Indians. The embassy, however, has not revealed their identity. Among the six injured in the blast on Monday, two are Indian nationals, who were treated at an Abu Dhabi hospital and later discharged.

Two Indians killed in Abu Dhabi blast identified