Australian Annual Migration Cap lowered

In an effort to curb overpopulation in major Australian cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the government has announced that it plans to reduce the annual permanent migration cap from 190,000 down to 160,000 from July 2019. This is nearly a 15% decrease from the previous year. Of the 160,000 applications accepted, 70% will be in the skilled migration stream (110,000 places), while 30% will be from family migration (47,000 places). Employer sponsored visa will offer 39,000 places, and State and Territory Nominated categories will offer 38,968 places in 2019/20. The government plans to keep this cap in place for at least the next 3 years.

Regional areas of Australia are suffering with a shortage of skilled workers and fewer investments. Prime Minister, Scott Morrison hopes that the new immigrations cap will help meet the demand for skilled work in regional Australia and solve the problem of overcrowding in urban regions. In an added measure to enforce the new requirements, applicants would be required to submit proof of residential and work addresses in all future permanent residency applications.

With the introduction of a new skilled visa for 23,000 new entrants; individuals could gain permanent residency if they meet the minimum stay requirement of 3 years; living and working in regional Australia.