Cerberus1 Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Massive growth in Australia's ballooning temporary migration is dwarfing the Government's cuts to the permanent intake. The number of people who hold bridging visas — the same kind of visa given to the Commonwealth Games athletes who are seeking asylum — has hit a historic high. At the end of March, 195,000 people with bridging visas were in Australia, including more than 37,000 whose nationality was not specified. That is up more than 40,000 on a year ago, and close to 90,000 since 2014, according to official Department of Home Affairs figures. It has pushed the number of people in Australia on temporary visas to more than 2.2 million — again, a record high. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said the Government was planning on cutting the permanent migration intake from its traditional level of 190,000 per year, down to approximately 170,000 this year. But that number is dwarfed by the scale of the temporary visa program. In the past year an additional 150,000 visitors are in Australia on temporary visas, including 33,000 more foreign students. The Government has rolled out an overhaul of both temporary and permanent migration programs in the past year. Jonathan Granger, director of Granger Australia and a former national president of the Migration Institute of Australia, described the migration program as "chaotic", saying processing times in major visa streams including the temporary skill shortage (formerly code 457), employer-nominated scheme and skilled independent visas had all grown in recent years. A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said processing times were driven by a range of factors including: the volume of applications received, completeness of the application, how promptly applicants respond to any requests from the department, and the complexity of assessments in relation to health, character and national security requirements. The boom in bridging visas has been driven by a mysterious component of 37,000 visa holders for whom the Department of Home Affairs will not reveal their nationality. The Department of Home Affairs declined to provide more explanation about this group. Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-22/bridging-visa-surge-overwhelms-permanent-migration-cuts/9785946 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Stop the Kiwi's. That'll fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkesy Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 5 hours ago, Cerberus1 said: Massive growth in Australia's ballooning temporary migration is dwarfing the Government's cuts to the permanent intake. The number of people who hold bridging visas — the same kind of visa given to the Commonwealth Games athletes who are seeking asylum — has hit a historic high. At the end of March, 195,000 people with bridging visas were in Australia, including more than 37,000 whose nationality was not specified. That is up more than 40,000 on a year ago, and close to 90,000 since 2014, according to official Department of Home Affairs figures. It has pushed the number of people in Australia on temporary visas to more than 2.2 million — again, a record high. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said the Government was planning on cutting the permanent migration intake from its traditional level of 190,000 per year, down to approximately 170,000 this year. But that number is dwarfed by the scale of the temporary visa program. In the past year an additional 150,000 visitors are in Australia on temporary visas, including 33,000 more foreign students. The Government has rolled out an overhaul of both temporary and permanent migration programs in the past year. Jonathan Granger, director of Granger Australia and a former national president of the Migration Institute of Australia, described the migration program as "chaotic", saying processing times in major visa streams including the temporary skill shortage (formerly code 457), employer-nominated scheme and skilled independent visas had all grown in recent years. A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said processing times were driven by a range of factors including: the volume of applications received, completeness of the application, how promptly applicants respond to any requests from the department, and the complexity of assessments in relation to health, character and national security requirements. The boom in bridging visas has been driven by a mysterious component of 37,000 visa holders for whom the Department of Home Affairs will not reveal their nationality. The Department of Home Affairs declined to provide more explanation about this group. Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-22/bridging-visa-surge-overwhelms-permanent-migration-cuts/9785946 Really strange the unspecified nationality thing. Any hazard a guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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