Australia has today moved to tighten its migration rules in favour of English speakers and professionals, saying the country has been attracting too many hairdressers and cooks and too few doctors and engineers.
Kevin Rudd's government is tightening its list of occupations in demand so only those regarded as highly skilled migrants will be eligible to apply for independent skilled migration visas.
In a statement the government said: "The list is outdated and contains 106 occupations, many of which are less-skilled and no longer in demand. A new and more targeted Skilled Occupations List (SOL) will be developed . . . it will be introduced mid-year and focus on high value professions and trades."
"The Critical Skills List introduced at the beginning of 2009 which identified occupations in critical demand at the height of the global financial crisis will also be phased out."
Immigration Minister Chris Evans blamed the over-representation of lower skilled immigrants on a system put in place by former prime minister John Howard, whose government lost power in 2007 elections.
“Under the Howard government, we had a lot of cooks, a lot of hairdressers coming through,” Mr Evans said. “We were taking hairdressers from overseas in front of doctors and nurses - it didn’t make any sense.”
In 2009, the number of residence visas issued by the Australian government to Irish people rose by 25 per cent amid the ongoing recession in Ireland. Australia issued 2,501 residence visas to Irish people in the year to the end of June, 2009, up from 1,989 in the same period last year.
The number of 12-month working holiday visas for Australia issued to people under 30 has surged by 33 per cent to 22,786 in the year to the end of June, new figures show.
The new rules will favour applicants who already have job offers over those who merely have qualifications or who are studying. The measures are expected to dampen enrolment in Australian colleges by foreign students hoping to settle in the country.
Numbers of foreign students enrolled in Australian colleges exploded in 2001, when the government changed migration rules to allow them to apply for permanent residency while studying. Until then, skilled workers had to apply offshore for visas to fill jobs from a list of more than 100 trades and professions that were suffering shortages in Australia.
As a result of the higher standards and a revised list of which skilled workers are in short supply, 20,000 visa applications will be scrapped and their application fees totalling 14 million Australian dollars refunded, Mr Evans said.
The new list will be made public mid-year. Foreign students enrolled in courses for professions that are cut from the list will be given 18 months after graduation to find work in their field, or will have to leave Australia.
Additional reporting: AP