Australia to accept fewer permanent migrants this year due to effects of coronavirus shutdown

Australia’s migrant intake in recent years has been running at record levels, but effects of the coronavirus pandemic and concern about local jobs mean the inflow has been stemmed.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected immigration processing.

Australia will have fewer migrants this year due to the effect of coronavirus shutdowns as the federal government moves to protect local jobs.

Permanent residency visa invitations by the Department of Home Affairs have dropped dramatically in April compared with previous months.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected immigration levels.

The number of invites for the skilled independent subclass 189 visa, which allows the holder to live anywhere in Australia, was only 50 in April – down from 1750 in March.

The subclass 491 visa, which requires skilled migrants to live in regional areas, also suffered a huge drop in invites.

The 2019-20 migration program is capped at 160,000 places, but on current trends it will fall well short of that.

A Home Affairs spokesman told the Herald Sun it was too early to say what the final outcome will be, and the department continued to process permanent visas where possible.

“However with measures such as health checks and English language tests being shut down offshore, many applications are not able to be finalised at this time,” he said.

Australia will not reach its cap of 160,000 permanent migrant arrivals in 2019-20.

Last week, a Home Affairs spokesman told SBS Radio’s Hindi program that the government was “closely monitoring migration and visa settings to ensure they are consistent with public health measures, are flexible and do not displace job opportunities for Australians”.

Australian Population Research Institute director Dr Bob Birrell welcomed the “toughening stance”, and said it was in line with recent government warnings that foreign students who couldn’t support themselves should go home.

“The government is clearly putting the wellbeing of domestic residents first,” he said.

“It’s hard to justify a high level of immigration when unemployment is at such a serious level.”

Dr Bob Birrell supports the federal government’s “tougher” stance on migration.

Dr Birrell said the government was also pushing up the pass mark for overseas students applying for permanent residency in Australia.

“So, only those with the very best English and employment record are likely to be invited to apply,” he said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that about 780,000 people lost their jobs between mid-March and early April due to pandemic shutdowns.

@JMasanauskas