Australia to halve migrant intake by 2025 and tighten visa rules

The Australian government has decided to halve the number of immigrants to reduce the number of immigrants the country is ready to accept. This is reported by the BBC, reports UNN.

Details

According to the government's decision, by June 2025 it is planned to to reduce the annual intake of immigrants to 250 thousand people - approximately to the level before the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the new plan, visa rules for foreign students and low-skilled rules for foreign students and low-skilled workers will also be tightened.

It is noted that migration to Australia has reached a record levels, worsening the situation with housing and infrastructure. In the year from June 2022 to June 2023, 510 thousand migrants arrived in the country.

At the same time, Australia continues to lack the skilled workers that it seeks to attract.

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Among the new restrictive measures are stricter minimum English language proficiency requirements for foreign students, as well as closer scrutiny for those wishing to obtain a second visa - they must prove that further study will advance their academic aspirations or career.

There are about 650 thousand international students studying in Australia, many of them on second students, many of whom have a second visa.