After H1-B, Australia scraps 457 visa programme most popular with Indians

MELBOURNE: After Trump’s crackdown on H1-B visa, Australia scraps subclass 457 visa category, widely used Indians.

Introduced in 1990s, the abolished visa is used over 95,000 foreign workers was popular among Indians, who were around 19,400 people (21.6%) of those holding the visa, TOI reported.

The UK, accounted for 16,800 visa holders (18.7 per cent), China at 19.5 while from the USA, the number was 5,100 (5.8 per cent).

The programme is replaced by a new Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa programme with new restrictions. Temporary Skills Shortage that has been introduced from March 18 requires higher English-language proficiency and additional job skills, minimum experience of two years and no criminal background.

Under the new reforms, it’ll be difficult for new applicants to get a Permanent Residency (PR) and even an entry in an Australian university.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced in April 2017 that the 457 visa would be abolished, a move to tackle the growing unemployment in the country.

“We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa, the visa that brings temporary foreign workers into our country,” Turnbull had said last year.

“We will no longer allow 457 visa to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians,” he said.