In order to alleviate Australia's housing crisis and living pressure, the Australian Immigration Department has taken the immigration knife.
It is reported that the Australian Immigration Department has closed the working holiday visa approval for Chinese passport holders in 2023-2024, resulting in the dashing of the hopes of more than 50,000 Chinese applicants.
At the same time, the adjustment of the 485 graduate work visa came into effect from July 1, and Chinese students "wailed".
Nowadays, it is becoming more and more difficult to stay in Australia, and immigrants end up carrying everything.
Cutting immigration seems to be a priority for the Australian government in the near future.
Voices from all walks of life in Australia said that due to the influx of immigrants into Australia, Australia's inflation is becoming increasingly serious, the housing crisis is high, and the cost of living continues to increase.
Reducing immigration will inevitably require a visa. Now, Australia has implemented a reform of visas closely related to Chinese immigration, resulting in a large number of Chinese applicants or students who have no hope of staying in Australia overnight.
These include the Working Holiday (WHV) visa and the Graduate Work visa (485).
Source: ABC
1. Australia suddenly changed the working holiday visa, and the visas of 50,000 applicants were invalid
澳洲的打工度假签证（Working Holiday Visa 462，WHV）是一类让诸多年轻人趋之若鹜的签证。
Previously, Australia and China reached an agreement to open WHV to Chinese citizens, allowing Chinese citizens who are willing to work to work in Australia, and can only apply once in their lifetime.
Every year, Australia approves up to 5,000 young Chinese to work and holiday in Australia, requiring them to have higher education and English skills.
Of these 5,000 Chinese, some eventually stayed in Australia and got the life they wanted.
Source: Little Red Book
This year, the number of Chinese applicants for WHV in Australia reached 50,000, a full 10 times the number approved.
However, 50,000 Chinese applicants ushered in a bolt from the blue - the Australian Immigration Department announced that the WHV for Chinese passport holders for the 2023-2024 period will be closed.
"Due to high demand, the work and holiday (subclass 462) of passport holders of the People's Republic of China is scheduled to be suspended in 2023-24," the notice reads. ”
Source: Little Red Book
Generally, the age limit for applicants for WHV is 18-30 years old and they must not stay in Australia for more than 12 months. If you go to work in a specific area, the period of stay can be extended to 24 months or 36 months.
Not long ago, Australia changed the WHV application system from a queuing system to a lottery system. All applications submitted by applicants will automatically fall into the "application pool", and the Australian Department of Immigration will randomly select applications from the pool and issue an invitation email.
Invitees can obtain a working holiday visa by submitting relevant visa information and paying the fee.
In July last year, Australia opened WHV applications for 2023-24 and received more than 50,000 applications from China, 10 times the number of approvals.
Now, the Australian Immigration Bureau has temporarily closed the approval of WHV, which is equivalent to "one pool" of application pools.
Source: ABC
After the Australian Immigration Department announced the suspension of WHV, many Chinese applicants found that their WHV applications had expired.
The prompt message reads, "This registration is no longer eligible for the random lottery." If you wish to participate in any future random lottery, you must submit new registration information. ”
Source: Little Red Book
On the social platform "Xiaohongshu", some friends said, "The pool of the working holiday lottery has been emptied this fiscal year".
Not only that, but the Chinese passport working holiday visa may be closed for a long time in the future.
Source: Little Red Book
Other friends speculate that WHV may retire from the stage of history.
Source: Little Red Book
In fact, as early as last week, some friends predicted on Xiaohongshu that Australia may not draw WHV again this year.
Source: Little Red Book
According to the analysis of the small partner, there are too many Chinese applicants for Australian WHV, and most of the migrant workers have carried out the "second visa" and "third visa", resulting in a large number of people stranded in Australia.
It is reported that in July 2023, Australia opened the application channel for WHV. A large number of applicants logged on to the website to apply for visas, resulting in a crash of the visa website. In September last year, due to the huge volume of applications, the Australian immigration department had to close the application channel early.
However, this year, the official website of the Australian Immigration Department revealed that the WHV deadline is April 30, but there has been no movement to apply for it.
So my friends speculated that this year's WHV application may be "cool".
Source: Little Red Book
Some friends said that they had long been prepared to "fail to win", or their applications might be postponed and then cancelled.
But I didn't expect it to expire directly without saying a word.
Source: Little Red Book
There are also friends who complain that Australia is "not trustworthy", which makes all WHV applicants "empty of water".
Source: Little Red Book
There are also friends who have started the self-comfort mode, saying that "it's better than drawing others and not drawing themselves".
Source: Little Red Book
Previously, Australia had already made up its mind to reduce immigration, aiming to cut the net number of overseas migrants (NOM) to 375,000 by June 30, and reducing the number of WHV approvals is undoubtedly a "good option".
A small partner said, "There are a little too many people in Australia now, prices and rents are rising wildly, and wages have not risen much." If you don't speak English well, it's hard to find a job. ”
Source: Little Red Book
The action against Chinese WHV applicants is undoubtedly due to the large number of Chinese applicants, and the application channel was suspended and closed after only 2 months of opening.
A small partner said, "Why only suspend China. The answer is that there are too many people. ”
Source: Little Red Book
The applicants for the WHV are actually the second group of potential immigrants targeted by the Australian immigration department, and the first batch, needless to say, is international students who come to study in Australia.
On the 24th of this month, the Australian Immigration Bureau announced that from July 1, the new policy on the work visa for 485 graduates in Australia will be officially implemented, and the duration of temporary work visas for some international students will be reduced from 5 years to 2 years, and graduates over 35 years old may not be able to get 485 work visas.
July 1 is the time for a large number of international students to apply for work visas after graduation, for which many Chinese students in Australia protested, and at the same time urged the school to issue a completion letter early to catch the "last train" of the five-year work visa.
There is only one week left, and the time of signing may be three years, and many Chinese students feel unfair about this.
Source: SBS
Second, the difference between graduation and visa is one week and three years, and the sorrow of Australian 485 visa applicants
According to local media reports, Chris, a Chinese student studying at the University of Melbourne, recently set up a WeChat group "University of Melbourne 485", and at present, 250 prospective graduates have joined the group, all of whom are Chinese students.
The group aims to petition the University of Mexico to issue a completion letter to students by the end of June, so that international students can sign a 485 work visa on July 1.
Chris said that the restructuring of the 485 visa is very unfair, "There is no transitional policy at all, which catches off guard for international students who want to stay and work in Australia after graduation." ”
图源：The Australian
He said that the Australian graduate labor market was originally "rolled", and the new policy made it even more difficult for graduates to find employment. "2 years of work visa (duration) can't meet the GP (graduate) program, so what's the point of enterprises training employees?"
Under such a restructuring, even if some graduates find a job, "what's the point?
Chris angrily believes that the Australian Immigration Department "is stuck in our class", "it is all eight years, (graduation) is one week short, (work permit length) is three years short!"
Source: SBS
Like Chris, Hu is an international student from China who studied at Monash University. In the past few days, Hu is organizing students to petition Monash University, hoping that the school will issue a letter of completion early.
Hu set up a WeChat group and a WhatsApp chat group, gathering students from many countries in the school, including India, Malaysia and Japan, "I hope to mobilize the strength of students from all over the world, but there is not enough time!"
Hu's appeal is similar to Chris's, hoping that Monash University can open up a channel for affected students to prevent more international students from being affected by the 485 work visa reform.
图源：Independent
By the middle of this year, Hu is about to complete his master's degree. According to the previous regulations, international students who graduated with a bachelor's degree could get a two-year work visa, while students who graduated with a master's degree could get a longer visa.
Now, if Hu gets the completion letter after July 1, he can only apply for a 2-year work visa, "2 years for graduate students is time-consuming and costly, and I don't know what the meaning is." ”
Hu said that now, the Australian National University and the University of Queensland have adjusted accordingly according to the remodel, and she believes that if Monash University does not follow up, "it will make us feel cold." ”
At present, Monash University has not responded to this matter, and Hu is still continuing to put pressure on the school, "Try hard together, our voices may be heard." ”
Source: SBS
For Lucy, another Chinese student, age is the biggest "problem".
Lucy is 40 years old and is an IT student at the University of South Australia. After the 485 work visa is restructured, she may not be eligible to apply for a work permit.
Lucy said she had worked in the manufacturing industry in China and had 10 years of project management experience. Subsequently, she took her children to Australia to study, hoping to stay in Australia and work, "At that time, the policy said that there was a work permit, but I didn't expect that as soon as the new policy came out, we were all cut." ”
According to her own account, from December last year until now, she has "been worried", and the little hope in her heart was completely dashed after 485 announced the restructuring.
Source: Visa
The restructuring has completely disrupted Lucy's life plan, and she believes that the Australian visa restructuring is very unfair and the notice time is too tight, "For people over 35 years old who have a family and come with children, they can't take the whole family back after graduation, right?"
She believes that senior talents are generally over 35 years old, "why lose their rights because of age?"
Now, Lucy is working to petition the University of South Australia to collect signatures from international students facing the same dilemma. "Actually, I don't know who to look for, and it's hard to make it hard, and I'm not sure how much I can do it. ”
At present, Lucy has found a part-time job in Australia with a wealth of work experience, and the employer says there are other ways to help her stay in Australia.
Source: Times
In December 2023, the Australian Immigration Department issued a notice saying that a number of visas, including the 485 graduate work visa, will usher in major adjustments.
On April 24, 2024, the Immigration Bureau announced that the adjustment of the 485 work visa will take effect on July 1 this year.
The overall length of visa issuance for the 485 visa has been shortened - except for the bachelor's degree and research master's degree that remain unchanged, the work permit for master's degree programs has been reduced from 3 years to 2 years, and the doctoral degree has been reduced from 4 years to 3 years.
Source: SBS
In addition, the upper age limit for 485 visa submission has been lowered from 50 to 35, thus repositioning the visa as a product for early career professionals who can contribute to the Australian economy in the long term.
International students studying in the "Eight Australian Universities" submitted a joint open letter on this matter earlier, calling on the Immigration Bureau to remake the age limit for the 485 visa, but so far there has been no positive reply.
As of 29 February 2024, there are 713,144 international students in Australia. This is the first time that the number of international students in Australia has exceeded 700,000, driving the number of temporary arrivals to 2.8 million, another record high.
Source: ABC
Australia is alleviating the housing crisis and cost of living for Australians by cutting the number of migrants.
The Working Holiday (WHV) visa, which is dominated by Chinese applicants, was recently abruptly cancelled and the approval channel was suspended.
Hopes for more than 50,000 Chinese applicants have been dashed this year, and there is also news that Australia may cancel the visa after that.
Source: X
On the other hand, the adjustment of the 485 work visa will officially take effect from July 1 this year.
For some international students, the visa period will be shortened from 5 years to 2 years, and graduates over 35 years old will not be eligible for a visa.
The Australian immigration bureau's move has caused a large number of international students to be dissatisfied, and at present, some Chinese students are petitioning for it.
Nowadays, it is becoming more and more difficult to stay in Australia, and the economic pot is finally buckled on the head of immigrants.