Australia slams door on migrants with low-value education

Entering Australia on the pretext of pursuing vocational courses such as hairdressing and cookery and settling down there will no longer be possible from July 1, as the government Down Under has tightened immigration norms.

Besides pruning the list of skilled occupations it will consider for immigration, the government has made qualification under the international English language testing system mandatory for those applying for work and permanent stay in Australia. Incidentally, Canada has also announced similar norms.

The policy change will affect thousands of Indian students who have enrolled for vocational courses in Australia with the aim of gaining permanent residency.

The new skilled occupations list (SOL) is designed to crack down on people seeking a back-door entry by acquiring low-value skills. It will not affect students going to Australia only for studies.

The Australian government said on its website the new SOL was a reform undertaken to overhaul its skilled migration programme while closing the door on those trying to manipulate the system.

Now, only people with relevant qualifications in occupations listed on SOL will be eligible for independent general skilled migration, it said.

The list contains 181 high-value occupations to ensure Australia’s skilled migration programme is “demand-driven rather than supply-driven”. The old list contained more than 400 occupations.

“Australia’s migration program cannot be determined by courses studied by international students. This SOL represents a new direction which aims to ensure we choose migrants who have the skills to meet our nation’s economic needs.

International students who have the skills our economy needs will still be able to apply for permanent migration or be nominated by employers, but we will no longer accept the thousands of cooks and hairdressers who applied under the old guidelines,” the website quoted minister for immigration and citizenship Chris Evans.

Earlier, people who completed short courses such as cooking and hairdressing were almost assured of permanent residency as skilled migrants despite low English skills.

Of the 41 000 general skilled visas Australia issued during 2007-08, more than 5,000 went to cooks and hairdressers.

Officials in the external affairs ministry said the measures would not affect “genuine” Indian students but put restrictions on those trying to sneak into Australia by other means.