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The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement(AI-ECTA) signed between the two countries came into effect on December 29, 2022. This agreement has opened several work-based migration pathways for international students, skilled migrants and even visitors from India. The major opportunities are as follows:
Post-study work rights for Indian students
As per the pact, Australia will provide post-study work rights for Indian students, so that they will be able to live, study and work in the country for a certain period after the completion of their studies. The length of this period will be as below:
- Indian students who complete a diploma or trade qualification will be able to stay up to 18 months.
- Those who complete a bachelor’s degree will be able to stay up to two years.
- For those who complete a master’s degree, the period will be three years.
- Doctoral degree holders will be able to stay in Australia for up to four years.
Furthermore, the Indian students who complete their bachelor’s degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sectors with First Class Honours will be eligible to stay in Australia for a total of three years on post-study visas. At present, the period is only two years.
The date of implementation of these changes will be announced only later.
Work and holiday visas for Indian students
For the first time, Australia will include Indians in their Work and Holiday program. This was announced on April 2, 2022. This will come into effect within two years after ECTA comes into effect. So, one thousand Indian citizens between the age of 18 and 30 years will get Work and Holiday(Subclass 462) visas for a period of 12 months, provided they meet the eligibility criteria, which include:
- The applicant must hold a valid Indian passport
- They must not be living in Australia at the time of application and while obtaining the visa
- The application must be submitted online.
- They must have functional level of English proficiency
- They must have completed at least two years of post-secondary education
- They must meet the health and character requirements
- They must not be accompanied by dependent children
- They must have sufficient funds for the purposes of work and holiday in Australia.
At present, only citizens of 26 selected countries including the US and China are able to get holiday visa to Australia.
Opportunities for chefs and yoga instructors
As per the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, a total of 1800 Indians will be allowed to enter Australia on temporary basis, provided they are qualified, professional Indian traditional chefs or yoga instructors and are entering as Contractual Service Suppliers of India. However, they will not be exempt from labour market testing.
Do you wish to know more about the pathways for migrating to Australia from India? Talk to the Australia immigration experts of CanApprove now!
