The 2019 Federal Budget has a number of announcements and information related to the Department of Home Affairs and the migration program that will affect visa applicants. We have detailed the major announcements and upcoming changes below:
The Department has announced that all base visa application charges, with the exception of the Visitor Visa (Subclass 600), will be increased by 5.4% on the 1st of July 2019.
Additional announcements have been made which will affect the General Skilled Migration and Regional Employer Sponsored visa programs.
- Migration numbers will be reduced further to 160,000
- The RSMS Subclass 187 Visa will be discontinued
- The Regional Sponsored Subclass 489 Visa will be discontinued
- The points test for General Skilled Migration will be adjusted
The Department of Home Affairs will be introducing two new regional visas in November 2019. These regional visas will have enhanced monitoring activities by the department.
- The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa
The below information was announced prior to the Federal Budget and provides further detail that was not included in the Budget papers in relation to migration numbers in 2019-2020.
| Stream | 2019-20 | *2017-18 |
| Skilled | ||
| Employer Sponsored | 30,000 | 35,528 |
| Skilled Independent | 18,652 | 39,137 |
| State / Territory Nominated | 24,968 | 27,400 |
| Skilled Regional | n/a | 1,574 |
| Skilled Employer Sponsored (Provisional) new | 9,000 | n/a |
| Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) new | 14,000 | n/a |
| Business Innovation and Investment program | 6,862 | 7,260 |
| Global Talent | 5,000 | n/a |
| Distinguished Talent | 200 | 200 |
| Skilled total | 108,682 | 111,099 |
| Family | ||
| Partner | 39,799 | 39,799 |
| Parent | 7,371 | 7,371 |
| Other Family | 562 | 562 |
| Other | ||
| Special eligibility | 236 | 236 |
| Child | 3,350 | 3,350 |
If you are planning to apply for a temporary or permanent visa soon, contact us now to apply before the price increase.
Get a quote or find out if you are eligible for any of the below visas:
