Australia is making big changes to immigration by tightening rules for international students and low-skilled workers. They plan to cut the number of migrants by half over the next two years. The key changes include making English language tests harder for international students and scrutinizing renewals of student visas more closely, which might take longer.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says the goal is to make migration more normal and focus on shaping Australia’s future, not just about the quantity of migrants. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agrees, saying they want to bring migration to a sustainable level and fix what they see as a broken system.
Already in place reforms have started reducing the number of migrants, and they expect this trend to continue. After reaching a record of 510,000 net immigrants in 2022-23, they anticipate a significant drop to around 250,000 per year in 2024-25 and 2025-26, going back to levels before the pandemic.
Australia migrant intake, Student visa requirements, Australian immigration changes, Visa policy updates, Australia student visas