Why the Removal of Australia's 457 Visa may not Impact Indians?

Immediately after US President announced changes to it's most famous and sought after H1B visa, the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull announced to discontinue 457 visa for skilled workers. Australia is one of the most favoured destinations for Indian professionals and students and this decision has come as a blow to the aspirants.

Though as per a release from the PMO office, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised his concerns over the decision with Malcolm Turnbull earlier this week. But in reality, the closure of 457 visas won’t be impacting Indians as much as it is feared.

The subclass 457 visa had been considered as a lifeline for many Indians who have wished to work in the skilled sector for up to 4 years. From March 2018, the subclass will be replaced by a Temporary Skill Shortage visa. The new TSS visa will have two streams — a short-term stream allowing entry for up to 2 years, and a medium-term stream allowing entry for up to 4 years.

The Australian government also announced that the number of employment opportunities available for the temporary skilled migration has been brought down from 651 to 435. The eligible occupations falling in the list will be reviewed every 6 months to ensure that these are aligned with Australia’s skills needs. As per the experts, the scrapping of subclass 457 will not influence the genuine import of workers.