Overseas backpackers in Australia will be required to pay an additional $130 for a Working Holiday Maker visa starting from July 1, 2023.
So far, everyone applying for this type of visa has been required to pay a fee of $510. However, as soon as the new rules become effective, those applying got a Working Holiday Maker visa will have to pay $640, representing a visa fee increase of 25 percent, VisaGuide.World reports.
Apart from the fee for this type of visa being increased soon, the visa could also be restricted to one year, making it one of the world’s most expensive.
While the Australian authorities said that such a fee increase is necessary to avoid exploitation, fruit and vegetable growers have raised concerns, saying that overseas workers will no longer want to reach Australia.
As the Daily Mail explains, 80 percent of the harvesting labor force is made up of 112,000 individuals holding Australia’s Working Holiday Maker visa. Nonetheless, they are still only a fraction of the 1.8 million foreigners who are in Australia on a temporary working visa.
Commenting on the matter, the Opposition’s immigration spokesperson, Dan Tehan, said that backpackers started being targeted as soon as permanent as well as long-term immigration levels started to increase.
According to him, this is unbelievable and unfair as backpackers support the country’s farming and tourism.
“It is unbelievable that Labor is even thinking about winding back the Working Holiday Maker visa when backpackers spend the most time in regional Australia, do the critical jobs that support farming and tourism, and go home when their visa expires,” the statement of Tehan reads.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Tahen said that of greater concern is also the Ministry’s plan to cut the Working Holiday Maker visa to one year.
This, according to him, would devastate tourism, agriculture, and hospitality in Australia, thus leading to increased costs passed on to Australians.
Additionally, Tehan said that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seems to be targeting working-visa backpackers as rental markets become increasingly competitive throughout Australia. The same noted that the treasury predicts that there will be a record-breaking influx of 400,000 new migrants relocating this year.
The Working Holiday visa of Australia – subclass 417 – is a temporary visa issued to young people from other countries who want to holiday as well as work in Australia for up to 12 months.
On the other hand, the other subclass – subclass 462 – is issued to those who are not eligible for visa 417.