Indian immigrants under the budget for new immigrants are now in overtime
Chinese immigrants are in danger of being marginalized
Australia's total immigration quota for the 2023-24 financial year is set at 185,000.
This is a slight decrease of 5,000 from the previous year.
Australia's immigration policy has tightened
Although the total tightening is not much, the policy adjustment has had a major impact on various migration pathways.
Among them, the investment immigration program will be completely banned.
The application fee will be refunded for the 188/132 and 858 visas for skilled business and extraordinary talents, which are currently being processed.
In the future, it will be changed to "National Innovation Visa", aiming to attract talents and entrepreneurs who can truly promote the development of key national industries.
As the main immigration channel, the requirements for technical immigrants such as years of work experience will be greatly tightened.
An employer-sponsored 186 visa requires 3 years of work experience, and the 2-year experience threshold for a 182 temporary work permit will also be lowered to 1 year.
The right to work after graduation has also been greatly reduced.
With the exception of Indian students, the working period of master's degree students in other countries is only 2 years, and doctoral students are 3 years, which is generally shortened.
It can be said that the new immigration policy undoubtedly sets a higher threshold for the majority of Chinese immigrants.
Indian immigrants have gone the other way
Policy "handing green leaves"
Chinese: Lost badly!
In stark contrast to the "pinch" of the Chinese, the Indian immigration application has received green channel-like policy support.
The new immigration budget has opened up an exclusive "MATES" pilot program for India, which will issue 3,000 temporary work permits for 2 years each year, which will be selected in the lottery and will be implemented in November this year!
It is worth mentioning that this pilot program has completely eliminated the traditional barrier of employer sponsorship.
Both the visa recipient and his or her spouse can work in Australia without restrictions, and then they can also apply for skilled migration for permanent residence.
In addition, the right to work for Indian students has been extended to a maximum of 4 years.
The 5-year business visit visa policy is also open to Indian citizens.
These incentives stem from the migration cooperation agreement signed between the two governments in 2023 to strengthen the movement of people and economic and trade ties.
Among them, the Australian side also recognized the validity of India's local academic qualifications, and broadened the path for Indian students to study and work in Australia.
In general, the clear orientation of the new immigration policy is to "tighten the green rope and relax the red rope", that is, to further tighten the application for Chinese immigrants and open the door for Indian talents.
In the short term, India will be the biggest winner for Australian immigration.
The new pattern of Australian-Indian immigration:
Institutional differences are key
So, why do Indian immigrants get such preferential treatment in Australia, while Chinese immigrants are struggling?
Analysts pointed out that in addition to the deepening of economic and trade cooperation between Australia and India in recent years, the differences between the two countries in terms of immigration systems are also important reasons.
First of all, it is easier for Indian immigrants to meet Australia's academic requirements.
Australia and India have reached an agreement on mutual recognition of degree qualifications, which makes it possible for Indian students to enter Australian universities for postgraduate or undergraduate studies.
In contrast, the recognition process of Chinese qualifications in Australia is more cumbersome and the pass rate is also low, which has become the biggest institutional obstacle for Chinese students to go to Australia.
Secondly, the Indian government has also provided special student loans for students to study abroad.
Regardless of whether it is through direct application or collateral, as long as the major is recognized by India, the loan can be approved, which greatly relieves the financial pressure.
In contrast, Chinese students are more dependent on their families' own funds, and the heavy burden of tuition fees is a big test for many families.
Finally, India's membership as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the cultural homology and linguistic environment of its citizens and Australia also make it relatively easy to integrate.
However, the linguistic and cultural gap between China and Australia is still relatively obvious, and the relationship between the two countries has been clouded in recent years, which also brings potential uncertainties to Chinese immigrants.
Overall, the introduction of the new immigration policy has created a clear gap between the current situation of immigration between India and China. Under the changes in the external environment, Chinese immigrants may fall into further marginalization.
Qantas has suspended the China-Australia route
Source: eastmoney/news/network
Finishing: Xingshang editorial team
In the past two days, many Australian friends have said: so disappointed! Qantas said on Tuesday (May 14) that it would suspend flights between Sydney and Shanghai from July 28, 2024, due to sluggish demand.
Qantas had hoped that travel demand would rebound after the pandemic, but has decided to suspend services after about nine months of reopening.
Qantas suspended the route during exceptional circumstances and resumed operations in October 2023. But less than a year later, it was suspended again.
Due to the decline in tourists and the slowdown in China's domestic economy, the number of international flights to and from China is about 70% of pre-pandemic levels, and the recovery is slower than other markets.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace noted that "demand for travel between Australia and China has not recovered as strongly as expected since the pandemic eased. For several months, our flights to and from Shanghai have been half-full...... We will continue to maintain our presence in China through our partners and existing flights to Hong Kong and look forward to returning to Shanghai in the future." ”
Qantas said it will redirect its Shanghai route to other high-demand destinations in Asia, and that Qantas will continue to keep a close eye on the Australia and China markets and reopen its Shanghai route once demand recovers.
Margy Osmond, chief executive of the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia, an industry group, said China is now Australia's fourth-largest source of international tourists, with arrivals in March being just 47 per cent of what it was in March 2019 (before the pandemic).
Before the pandemic, China was Australia's largest tourism market. Qantas still operates flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Hong Kong, and partners with other airlines to provide connections within China.
It is reported that the last direct flight from Qantas Sydney to Shanghai will depart on July 28. Qantas customers who book direct flights to Shanghai after 28 July will receive a full refund, and if you have already booked this flight, please contact the airline as soon as possible to make a change.
According to a report by China's Civil Aviation Network, in addition to the complete suspension of flights involving Shanghai and Sydney after July 28, 2024 (inclusive), flights on this route will be randomly reduced from June, and only Hong Kong will be retained as the destination of China.
Qantas has announced that it will launch a new route from Brisbane to Manila in the Philippines at the end of October, with additional flights to Singapore, in addition to the Sydney-Bangalore route from mid-December to the end of March.
China's aviation regulator said it expects international flights to recover to 80% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024.
In contrast, China's domestic flight capacity recovered more quickly, surpassing 2019 levels in early 2023 shortly after China lifted travel restrictions.
The International Air Transport Association said this month that flights between China and the United States had recovered the slowest but were still increasing, with capacity reaching 16.5% of pre-pandemic levels.
Although Qantas has suspended its services, it is reported that in contrast, domestic airlines are accelerating the recovery in the Australian route market, and have already occupied an absolute advantage in the China-Australia route market.
According to the latest statistics of Flight Steward, on the Chinese mainland and Australia routes (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) in April this year, Qantas Airlines carried out 44 flights, accounting for 4.5% of the total flight volume of the China-Australia route, and was the only international carrier on the route in April, while Chinese carriers occupied the remaining market share, and its Middle East Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines ranked among the top three, accounting for 70.2% of the total flight volume.
The resumption of flights on China-Australia routes such as China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, and Sichuan Airlines has exceeded the pre-epidemic level.
In March 2024, Han Bin, general manager of Tourism Australia China, pointed out in an interview with the media that Australia will only receive 89,000 Chinese tourists in 2022, and nearly 550,000 Chinese tourists in 2023, of which 66,000 Chinese tourists will be in a single month in December 2023, and the number of tourists in a single month will recover to nearly 60% of the same period in 2019.
Considering that Australia will only enter the list of outbound group tours for Chinese in August 2023, the recovery speed has been quite significant.
On May 14, a number of Chinese who are studying and working in Australia said that Qantas was not considered as the first choice during China's travel to and from Australia, for the same reason - domestic airlines are cheaper than Qantas.
For example, on the flight from Shanghai to Sydney on June 8, Qantas had a ticket price of more than 3,000 yuan for both direct flights and flights with transfers.
China Southern Airlines has the lowest price, with a ticket price of only 1,221 yuan for many flights on the same day.