Detailed questions about what would-be migrants can expect after the federal election were submitted to the Labor party and the Coalition by the Irish Echo.

Specifically, the parties were asked if they would cap or cut skilled migration visas, temporary business (457) visas and student visas.

The Coalition
THE Coalition has named 170,000 a year as its target number for net migration, figures for which would include working holiday visa holders, student visa holders and returning Australian residents among its whole.

Some 57,000 allocations of that number would go towards the skilled migration stream, which means that considerably fewer skilled migration visas than now would be awarded under an Abbott government. The Coalition has indicated that there is likely to be no change to the 457 scheme.

“A Coalition Government will also quarantine the level of employer nominated skills migration and temporary business visas (457s) to at least the levels it inherits. In addition, the Coalition will seek to liberalise arrangements for temporary business visas (457s) subject to clear standards, to make them more accessible to business, especially small businesses, and business in regional areas with proven skills shortage needs,” their policy document says.

Irish people seeking to emigrate to Queensland or Western Australia may find that their applications are processed more quickly, as the Coalition will prioritise the two states.

“To address the skills needs of regional areas and small business we will encourage the settlement on either a temporary or permanent basis of new arrivals in regional and rural areas. States such as Queensland and WA will be afforded a high priority for permanent and temporary skilled visa applications.”

The Liberal Party has also outlined that it wishes to produce a White Paper on immigration by the end of this year, if elected. Its policy gives little away by saying that this paper will “reframe the structure and composition of Australia’s immigration programme to address the policy challenges of sustainable population growth”.

Labor
LABOR has said that skilled migration visas, 457 visas and student visas all remain uncapped but they have not indicated if this will change after the election. Labor does not have a full immigration policy document.

“The Gillard Labor Government in May announced an increase to the skilled migration program for the 2010-11 year. The skill stream has been increased by 5750 places, a 5.3 per cent increase from 2009-10 planning levels of 108,100.

“This means the skill stream accounts for 67.5 per cent of the migration program, up from 64.1 per cent in 2008-09,” a Labor spokesperson said.

Temporary business (457) visas are uncapped. Irish people already here who are considering extending their stay by applying for student visas will be happy to know that this programme is also uncapped.

by Luke O’Neill

Net emigration from Ireland  over the next four years could eclipse the massive exodus of the 1980s, economic analysts have predicted.

But in an ominous sign forIreland’s economic prospects, the departure of more than 300,000 people over the next four years is seen as crucial to the country’s prospects of recovery, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has declared.

While official figures from the Australian Department of Immigration were unavailable at the time of going to press, ESRI officials in Dublin said that staff in the Australian Embassy in Dublin had reported that there has been a major increase in the number of visa applications from Irish nationals.

The emigration estimates were contained in an ESRI report on Ireland’s economic recovery. The report presented two scenarios, an optimistic and a pessimistic outlook.

Even based on the most positive assumptions, the ESRI still estimated that “there would be cumulative net emigration of over 160,000 over the period 2009 to 2013.”

In the negative scenario, which commentators have described as more realistic, that number could almost double.

However, the ESRI has also claimed that increased emigration is crucial to lowering Ireland’s joblessness, which now stands at over 13 per cent.

“If migration were not to resume to this extent, this would lead to a higher unemployment rate and a slower decline in the unemployment rate in the recovery period,” the report declared.

Other commentators have gone further, claiming that people will “have to emigrate” if the Irish economy is to recover.

More than 120,000 people — or 5,000 a month — will emigrate by the end of next year, according to the state’s economic think-tank.

Jean Goggin, a co-author of the ESRI report, said: “It’s quite significant — we expect 70,000 to leave in 2010 and a further 50,000 in 2011.”

Unlike last year, most of these emigrants will be Irish, the figures suggest.

Many foreign workers – mostly in construction and retailing — whose jobs disappeared have already left the country.

“In the two years 2008 and 2009, the number of non-nationals employed in Ireland fell by 87,500,” the report says. “The biggest adjustment was in the number still in Ireland. It fell by 60,200, or 12 per cent.”

“It is very difficult to estimate how Irish workers will react to the situation,” senior researcher Alan Barrett told the Irish Independent.

“But the evidence from things like visa applications for Australia points that way.”

by Billy Cantwell

Recent recommendations to the Government have suggested slashing the country's immigration intake.

The National Farmers’ Federation claims that there is a current shortage of 100,000 workers in the Australian agricultural sector.

The organisation has declared that the nation’s “economic engine room is in danger of stalling because the supply of labour cannot meet surging demand”.

The NFF has called on the government to relax immigration rules to incentivise regional work for new and temporary residents.

“The global financial crisis and drought have masked a critical workforce deficit across regional Australia,” NFF President David Crombie explained. “Solid rains, and the recovery they promise, threaten to drain the labour pool.

“We calculate that over 100,000 jobs – 80,000 for skilled labour and 22,000 entry-level positions – need to be filled in agriculture for farms to return to full production.

“The influx of 6,000 gigalitres of water coursing through the Murray-Darling system – following the downpour and floods in Queensland – will see farmers in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SA looking for a major kick-start to production and recovery, but we’re in serious danger of being all revved up with no place to go.

“Farmers can grow the food, but who will pick the fruit, harvest the veggies and shear the sheep? Without a labour fix produce will be left to rot and pivotal economic capacity will go unfulfilled.

“Despite the drought our farms have been vital economic drivers, accounting for $137 billion a year in economic impetus, $32 billion annually in exports and directly employing 317,000 Australians. But that’s about 90,000 down on pre-drought employment 10 years ago. Where will the extra employees we need come from?”

As part of a major shake-up in population strategy, the NFF is calling on government to examiner “tying migrants to regional locations – that is, requiring new migrants to Australia to live and work in regional areas”.

They’ve also asked the Rudd Government to reconsider the move to axe regional concessions for migrants temporarily working in Australia.

“More people in regional Australia are a must. With our capital cities bursting at the seams it’s time for all our governments to take off their city-centric blinkers and make a concerted push to populate and service the bush,” Mr Crosbie said.

The Australian government is expected to announce changes to its Skilled Migration Program in June.

Dear John, I am a 25-year-old carpenter from Ireland living and working in Brisbane this last 18 months. I have six years’ experience as a carpenter but no formal qualification. I have been told that state sponsorship could be my best option. Could you give me a rundown on the process, stages, expenses, length of time, and chances of success? Brian G.

Dear Brian,
Seeking state sponsorship may well be a strong option as it seems this route is set to get higher priority processing by the Department of Immigration (DIAC).

On February 8, 2010 the Government announced changes to priority processing of skilled visa applications.
Employer Nomination applications now get the highest priority followed by state-sponsored application where the applicant’s skill is a ‘State Migration Plan’.

Currently all states are offering sponsorship in some occupations but as yet none have issued a ‘State Migration Plan’. One would expect these plans will begin to appear in the coming months. This could be good news for people who have a state-sponsored application in the system or are planning to make one.  If your occupation appears on a state plan one would expect to get moved up the priority processing list.

You need to check each state’s website to find the occupations they will sponsor however I note that Queensland is not currently sponsoring carpenters.

For people without formal trade qualifications, provided you have at least four years work experience in a trade such as carpentry there is a pathway to become eligible to apply for a skilled migration visa incuding  state-sponsored visas.

Your first step should be to get your skills assessed to the Australian Qualification Framework Certificate III (AQFIII).

This is the Australian equivalent of FETAC National Craft Certificate or City and Guilds level 3. There are many registered training organisations in Australia that will assess trade occupations. Expect this to cost about $2,500.

(Find an RTO at www.ntis.gov.au)

With the AQFIII, apply for a migrating skills assessment through Trades Recognition Australia (TRA).
The application fee is $300.
(www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Programs/TRA/)

Once you have the skills assessment and can show recent work history, you can apply to a state government for sponsorship. Some states charge $250–$300.

State websites include, Queensland Government (www.workliveplay.qld.gov.au) and Western Australia (www.migration.wa.gov.au).

When the state sponsorship is approved you can apply for the 176 state-sponsored skilled visas.

The visa application fee is $2,525.

Don’t forget, you have to agree to live in the sponsoring state for at least two years after the visa is granted. Expect the process to take about six months to get to the point of visa application.

Immigration’s stated application processing times for a visa application with a skill on a state migration plan is ‘within 12 months’.
For a state-sponsored application with a skill not on a state migration plan, expect about a three-year processing time.
Consider getting a full assessment from a registered migration agent to help find the best visa option.
(http://mia.org.au)

Irish-born permanent residents of Australia who arrived here before January 1984 may lose their right to vote in elections,  if a Labor parliamentarian has his way.

As the law stands, nationals of British Commonwealth countries resident in Australia before 1984 have the right to vote in elections without becoming citizens. The only non-Commonwealth country that Australia has extended this right to is the Republic of Ireland.

According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), there are 162,928 such voters here who are not citizens, but yet are eligible to vote in elections. This represents 1.18 per cent of electors on the electoral roll as of September 2008.

These people come from 49 different countries, including the Republic of Ireland, and are deemed to have “British subject” notation by the AEC.

But now, a Labor MP is advocating that the provision be reviewed. Daryl Melham recently sat on a Joint Standing Committee examining Electoral Affairs at the 2007 federal election and co-chaired a report, which was released last week.

The MP believes that it is time for Australia to review this arrangement.

“This is a treasured right,” he told the Irish Echo. “It is not fair to Australian citizens and other non-citizens that such a situation continues to exist.”

Mr Melham is ‘sympathetic’ to those who want to wait for Australia to become a republic to become citizens and he acknowledges that some of those he wishes to disenfranchise have served in the military.

But he believes that only citizens should be allowed to vote and points to the potential for these non-citizen voters to alter the result of individual seats and/or even an election.

“There are eight divisions with more than 2,500 electors with British subject notations (sic) on the electoral roll, and a further 62 divisions with more than 1,000 electors with British subject notations on the electoral roll,” he said.

“Of the 150 divisions at the 2007 election, nine divisions had final margins of less than 1,000 votes and 19 divisions had margins of less than 2,500 votes,” he said.

“It is clear that the continued enfranchisement of British subjects (sic) has the potential to affect [the outcome of an election],” he continued.

But he believes that voting non-citizens should be given ample opportunity to become certified Aussies before their vote is taken from them.

“Notwithstanding our historical links, I believe that in this day and age, continuing the grandfathering arrangements for a special class of British subjects (sic) is unfair and unreasonable to other non-citizens,” he said.

Mr Melham acknowledged that he may not be able to win support from his government colleagues to precipitate the change but his main intention was to create debate on the topic at federal elections.

More than one in five Irish passport holders who come to Australia on Working Holiday Visas (WHV) end up staying longer than the single year allotted, according to figures obtained by the Irish Echo. While about 10 per cent take up the opportunity of a second WHV through fruit picking or regional work, a further 10 per cent secure sponsorship through an employer. These figures do not include those who apply for permanent residency.

A total of 12,688 first-time WHVs were issued to Irish citizens in the year to June 2007. According to projected figures for the same 2007-08 period, 26.8 per cent of those will have remained in the country past the end of their original visa through either 417 visa extensions or subclass 457 Temporary (Long Stay) Business Visa sponsorships.

The total number of WHVs issued in the 2007-08 year is set to reach an all-time high of over 15,500, according to projected figures, with 11,708 first-time 417 visas having been granted up until March 31, 2008. The slight decline from the 2,190 457 visas granted in 2005-06 to the 2,120 granted in 2006-07 looks to have been reversed also, with the total number of 457 visas granted in the same period of the 2007-08 calendar year set to top the 2,400 mark.

Over 8,000 457 visas have been issued to Irish passport holders since 2004.

The opportunity to extend the WHV by a year after taking up three months of agricultural or regional work is proving popular with young Irish. Since its introduction in November 2005, over 2,000 young Irish have extended their stay. The number of second WHVs is set to rise from 826 in 2006-07 to a projected 1,318 in 2007-08.

The figures show that the number of Irish people coming to Australian shores each year is continuing to increase. With Ireland’s economy showing signs of contraction and rising unemployment – particularly in the construction sector – this trend looks set to increase even further in the  coming year. 

Sky-rocketing inflation, a flat propery market and miserable weather could all contribute to a spike in visa numbers to Australia from Ireland.

Immigration figures could  rise even further if proposals from Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle are implemented to increase the minimum age limit of 30 from the 417 eligibility requirements.

The Rudd Government has launched a range of reviews and inquiries into the 457 visa scheme. While employers are supportive of the scheme – claiming that it is easing the skills shortage – unions and others are sceptical about its efficacy, arguing that it is open to  manipulation and can lead to the exploitation of workers.

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