1. Australia offers visa fee refund policy

In an effort to support a number of industries facing labor shortages, the Australian government has recently announced it will offer a fee for any student or holiday worker returning to Australia for a few months. next.

The Australian Prime Minister announced that from January 19, any international student coming to Australia will be refunded the visa application fee of AUD 630 per person, made within 8 weeks, by the Department of Home Affairs. Australia is responsible.

Australia introduces visa fee refund policy

Meanwhile, workers applying for a work-related tourist visa will be reimbursed AUD 495/person. The fee waiver plan for this target group will be implemented within 12 weeks from the date of announcement. This move is expected to be enough to attract about 150,000 students and 23,500 tourists who are currently on visas and are not in Australia back to the country of kangaroos to live and work.

The recent spike in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron strain has affected thousands of Australian workers and industries. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hopes the changes will make a big difference in addressing the ongoing workforce shortages across the country. Mr Frydenberg revealed the visa refund scheme is expected to cost A$55 million ($38.5 million).

Also on January 19, Australian Prime Minister Morrison announced the tourism industry will receive a support of 3 million AUD (equivalent to 2.1 million USD) to build a marketing program aimed at tourists. backpack” and international students.

2. Long-term goal to attract workers to Australia

Since Australia closed its international borders in March last year, Australian businesses and industries have struggled with severe labor shortages. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the 12 months after Australia closed, the country's population only increased by 35,700 people, a significant decrease compared to previous years. Professor Jock Collins from the UTS Business School told SBS News that Australia is an immigrant country and the economy relies heavily on this resource.

In a new study, KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne advises Australia to target highly skilled workers intending to travel to the UK and Canada amid the post-pandemic, market global competition.

The latest official population data shows net outbound migration to remain negative this financial year before recovering to 235,000 per year from 2024-2025. This will make the population in 2025 about 700,000 less than those predicted before the pandemic.

Net migration added about 10% to Australia's population in the 10-year period prior to 2019. Therefore, to meet the 10% target as in previous years, Australia needs more than 350,000 people per year between now and 2028-2029 .

If the above target is achieved, Australia's GDP will increase by about $ 120 billion by the end of 2028-29, the size of the economy will also be 4.4% larger than it is now.

According to United Nations data analyzed by KPMG, Australia welcomed around 820,000 international migrants in the five years from 2015 to 2019. The UK and Canada are Australia's two rivals, receiving 1.14 respectively. million and 532,000 migrants during this period. KPMG says each immigrant will have a positive impact on GDP of about $130,000 per year, mainly from household consumption of about $70,000.

Australia welcomes around 820,000 international migrants in 5 years from 2015 to 2019

As a result, the Department of Home Affairs has identified 44 occupations as critical skills needed to support Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery. A Home Office official said the priority of these occupations will change as Australia recovers from the pandemic.

The Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) applies to visas:

• Temporary Skill Shortage visa - subclass 482,

• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa - subclass 494,

• Employer Nomination Scheme - subclass 186

• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme - subclass 187.

For advice & guidance on the procedure of applying  for a student visa , skilled labor, investment, immigration to Australia  and immigration procedures according to the latest announcement of the Australian government, please contact iCanfield according to the information. under.

iCanfield Vietnam Immigration & Study Abroad Consulting Company 

Address: 93 Nguyen Du, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC

Hotline: 028.3822.0285