Migrants who came from different countries to Australia in the 2020-2021 period will have to apply for a new visa or leave the country immediately as discussions for terminating this special COVID-era visa program due to abuse reports have occurred.
The Australian government announced that 408 pandemic event visas will no longer be available for applicants starting on Friday, and only those already holding such a visa can apply for a short-term extension, VisaGuide.World reports.
This special visa program was introduced in 2020 to support international students who weren’t able to return to their home countries while, at the same time, for the government to fill labour shortages that followed after the international borders were closed.
During this time, these visa holders could work unlimited hours for 12 months, include eligible family members in their application, and travel to or from Australia several times during their stay.
Following this situation, the Department of Home Affairs data revealed that almost 60,000 international students and temporary workers were using the permit to extend their stay in Australia despite the circumstances that led to this visa program creation no longer exist.
The data further show that the department issued 65,859 pandemic visas from June 2022 to March, including almost 27,000 in the year’s first three months.
“The pandemic event visa was an important part of Australia’s visa system during the pandemic. Many people on temporary visas helped Australia during this period,” Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said yesterday.
He also added that in the meanwhile, people who hold a pandemic event visa are able to explore other visa options or leave the country if that is on their plans.
Alongside Giles, the Home Affairs Minister, Clare O’Neil, also agrees that unlimited work hours for international students and work exemptions for working holiday visa holders, which were introduced during the extraordinary circumstances, are no longer relevant, similarly to other measures introduced by the government during the pandemic.
However, Girls also pointed out that these benefits that pandemic event visa holders had impacted the net overseas migration, which continues to rebound in post-pandemic and is expected to affect the population growth to reach pre-pandemic levels directly.
According to migration experts, the visa was being exploited by international students in Australia who were using this visa to stay in the country and work. The program will definitely be closed for applications in February.