In line with the National Budget 2020-21 event, on 8 October 2020, the Federal Government announced the planning levels for the 2020-21 Migration Program.
The total places available remain unchanged at 160,000. What has changed, however, is the allocation of places towards the Family Stream (such as Partner, Parent and other family visas) as versus the Skilled Stream (such as Employer Sponsored and General Skilled Migration visas).
Specifically, Family Stream places will increase from 47,732 in 2019-20 to 77,300 in 2020-21. Within the Skilled stream, the Government will prioritise the Employer Sponsored, Global Talent, Business Innovation and Investment Program visas, with each of these categories receiving the largest number of allocations within the Skilled Stream.
The Skilled Independent category (i.e. Subclass 189) within the Skilled Stream appears to have taken a back seat with only 6,500 places available in 2020-21, which is perhaps unsurprising, given the exceedingly small number of invitations issued to apply for this visa subclass in the previous year.
Following on the “regional” trend from the previous program year, the Government will prioritise onshore visa applicants and Partner visa applicants where the Sponsor resides in a designated regional area of Australia.
To see the figures for yourself, please visit https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels
As always, our lawyers and registered migration agents will continue to keep up with the ever-changing migration landscape in Australia and are passionate about helping you find the best visa pathway for your needs.
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