Australia: Increasing the quota of foreigners who can move to permanent residence may also benefit Nepalis.

Australia: Increasing the quota of foreigners who can move to permanent residence may also benefit Nepalis.

After Australia increased the permanent immigration quota for foreigners, Nepalese people living permanently in Australia have said that Nepalis are also "likely to take advantage of it".

According to them, skilled Nepalis will also be able to take advantage of the quota increased by Australia.

Australia has increased its permanent immigration numbers for the first time in a decade to help address the country's severe labor shortage.

In the current fiscal year (from July to June), Australia will increase the quota of 35,000 people to immigrate and allow a total of 195,000 foreign citizens to permanently immigrate.

Due to the Covid pandemic and Australia's strict border policies, there has been a shortage of staff in many areas of the country.

Benefits to Nepalese

The increased quota for permanent immigration is not only for Nepalis.

But it will make it easier for skilled Nepalese people to settle permanently in Australia, says Rajubabu Adhikari, General Secretary of the Non-Resident Nepalese Association of Australia.

He, who is also a registered 'migration agent' of Australia, said that "the said provision has opened the door of more opportunities for skilled Nepalis".

"Currently there is a shortage of skilled manpower, so the quota has been increased," he said.

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"The rules on permanent immigration have not changed. The quota for how many people are allowed in a year has only increased."

According to him, it is easy for Nepalis to organize themselves in Australia because of the large presence of Nepalis.

"This can be a good opportunity for skilled Nepalis as it is less expensive and they can also apply for permanent residence from Nepal," he said.

He said that now those who go to the quota of skilled workers will be able to do whatever they are good at.

Pratibha Thapa, a nurse working in a health institution in Melbourne, also says that this is a good opportunity for skilled Nepalese manpower.

"There are not as many manpower as needed, health institutions do not have the number of people they need," she said.

"This is a good opportunity for Nepalis who have skills as they are looking for the necessary people to fulfill it."

Which area is comfortable?

According to the official, as the new fiscal year in Australia starts on July 1, the new quota has been implemented since then.

According to that, by June 2023, Australia will grant permanent residency to 195,000 skilled people.

He said that under the said process, how many workers will be hired in which sector.

According to the information released by the Australian government, there are currently 480,000 vacancies for various types of jobs across the country.

With unemployment in Australia at its lowest level in 50 years, employers are struggling to fill the gap created by the shortage of workers.

Tourism and hospitality, healthcare, agriculture and industries requiring skilled workers are the most affected.

During last week's National Jobs Conference in Canberra, it was reported that the lack of workers has left airports in disarray, fruit rotting on the plants and hospitals under pressure.

According to the information given by the official, skilled manpower from the engineer, information technology sector and hotel and restaurant sector can apply for permanent residence from Nepal.

There is also an opportunity for skilled manpower in the health and medical sector.

However, the official said that the process of registration in Australia is a bit complicated for the manpower in the health sector.

This is the process

Australia decides whether or not to grant permanent residency to skilled workers based on their qualifications and experience.

The initial process is to get an assessment (assessment) from the Australian regulatory body in the field in which it is competent.

The official informed that if you meet your qualifications, you can apply based on other additional skills and experience.

"Skill assessment and English language proficiency are used to hire skilled manpower here," he said.

According to him, the equivalence of education received by Nepalis in Australia should also be taken.

After completing all those procedures, Nepalis can also apply through registered migration agents there, he said.

Permanent immigration to Australia

In mid-2010, permanent immigration to Australia reached approximately 190,000 per year.

That happened in 2017. Because at that time immigration had become a subject of political controversy.

At the time, businessmen, unionists and opposition party leaders insisted that more immigration was needed.

Although migration has slowed during the pandemic, more than 1 million people have moved to Australia since 2016.

According to the 2021 census, Australia's population has reached 25.5 million.

For the first time, it has been revealed that more than half of Australia's population is either born overseas or has foreign-born parents.

That is 2.1 million more than in 2016. There has been some increase in the average income of the population there.

Modern Australia is known as a country built by immigrants.