The Albanian government has introduced a new visa for young Indians who want to work and holiday in Australia.
Indian citizens aged 18 to 30 can now apply First work and holiday visaallowing them to work or study at short notice to help finance their longer holiday in Australia.
Visa spots are allocated through a random voting system; applicants must pre-register by October 31 and pay a $25 registration fee.
However, demand is high: more than 40,000 young Indians have already registered for just 1,000 available places.
During his visit to India this week, Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said there is no restriction on the type of work that can be done with the new visa.
“What we often find is that they tend to work in hospitality, agriculture, aged care and a number of service sectors where there is a skills shortage in Australia,” Mr Thistlethwaite said.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the visa was an “important obligation” of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which came into effect this month.
“It will facilitate mobility and deepen the connection between people,” Mr Goyal said.
The ‘First Work and Holiday visa’ allows citizens between 18 and 30 years old from India to study or work for a short period of time to finance their longer holiday in Australia
It’s the first time India has been included in Australia’s Working Holiday program, with leaders claiming the visa will strengthen ties between the two countries (Photo: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese embrace)
There were 976,000 Indian-born people living in Australia in June this year, and based on current immigration flows, that is likely to have already passed the one million mark.
‘Indians are loved in Australia. We are about to celebrate Diwali. When I go home I will celebrate Diwali,” Mr Thistlethwaite told his Indian audience.
“It’s a great symbol of how Indians have enriched Australian society and culture with your festivals, with your food, with your art and with your culture. And it’s great to live in Australia.’
A new visa class offering easier access to Australia went against the Albanian government’s stated commitments to curb record immigration levels, which have caused a severe housing shortage in the country and resulting exorbitant prices.
A net of 432,150 migrants moved to Australia in the year to July; the equivalent of adding a city the size of Canberra to the country every year.
This year’s budget predicts a decline in net overseas migration to 260,000 by the end of the 2024-2025 financial year, compared to 528,000 in 2022-2023.
Daniel Wild, deputy director of the Institute of Public Affairs, said the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics exposes how immigration is still growing at unsustainably high levels.
“The federal government has repeatedly promised to reduce migration levels, but month after month, migration intake records continue to be exceeded,” he said.
“It is clear that the Prime Minister has no intention of curbing the unsustainable migration influx.”