By: Kaya News Reporter
South Africans looking for a fresh start abroad may want to consider Australia’s emigration changes which have revised basic criteria. Australia has some of the harshest lockdown restrictions in the world as they look to isolate from further Covid-19 outbreaks.
Travel is only available if you are exempt or granted an individual exemption.
According to Xpatweb, Australia’s emigration changes are subject to change depending on the current circumstances around Covid-19.
The country is looking to attract migrants who can make a significant contribution to the Australian economy and fill positions where skills are scarce.
To qualify for the skilled stream of the Migration Programme, the basic criteria are:
- Age – you must be under 45 years of age at the date of application.
- English language – you must have sufficient ability in the English language.
- Qualifications – you are required to have a tertiary qualification (usually a university degree or a trade), and your qualification must have been assessed by the relevant assessing authority in Australia.
- Nominated occupation – when you apply, you will need to nominate an occupation befitting your skills and qualifications. This occupation must be on the Skilled Occupations List in the case of the subclass 189 visa or on one of the State/Territory lists for the subclass 190 visa.
- Medical and character checks – you must satisfy the criteria for both medical and character requirements.
In a report on Monday, the parliamentary committee advised that 500,000 temporary migrants had left Australia since the start of the pandemic.
In 2010/2011, over 8,612 South African migrants were reported as part of the programme – over twice as many than what was recorded in 2019/2020.
South Africa has slipped from 5th to 8th in Australis’s ranking for migrant countries.
Also read: More South Africans consider immigrating to Mauritius
