November 26th 2024.
Mia Mildren, a British marketing specialist, has been living in Australia for 12 years but has been unable to obtain permanent residency. She has recently spoken out about the country's immigration system, describing it as "frustrating and unfair" and comparing it to being in a "toxic relationship". Mildren initially came to Australia on a working holiday visa when she was 21 with plans to stay for only six months before returning home to England. However, she quickly fell in love with the country and has been trying to make it her permanent home ever since.
Despite her efforts, Mildren has only been able to secure temporary visas throughout the years. She has worked on a farm in North Queensland and in various cafes and bars in Sydney and Melbourne before pursuing a degree in business and marketing at a university in Victoria. Mildren estimates that she has spent around $70,000-$80,000 on visas, immigration agents, and university fees in her attempts to stay in Australia. However, despite her investments, Mildren has not been granted permanent residency and remains one of Australia's 2.8 million temporary residents.
Mildren's time in Australia has been mainly on employee-sponsored skilled visas, which have a pathway to permanent residency after a certain number of years of working in the industry. However, due to bad luck and poor timing, she has faced multiple redundancies and setbacks, including the recent pandemic. Currently, Mildren is on her second Temporary Skills Shortage visa, which is set to expire in November next year. She fears that she will not qualify for a new visa due to changes planned by the federal government, which will replace the Temporary Skills Shortage visa with a new Skills in Demand visa.
The new visa system is intended to attract migrants with skills in occupations that are in demand, in an effort to reduce the growing number of temporary residents in Australia. The number of temporary residents has increased significantly over the last decade but decreased during the pandemic as students and temporary workers were encouraged to return to their home countries. The federal government has set a goal of offering permanent residency to around 185,000 migrants in the next 12 months, with 70% of them being skilled workers.
The new Skills in Demand visa will have three main pathways for temporary visa holders, all leading to permanent residency. The first pathway is for highly skilled, specialist workers earning a salary of over $135,000 a year. The second pathway is for skilled migrants earning above the temporary skilled migration income threshold of $70,000. The third pathway is for lower-earning workers in critical sectors with staff shortages, such as aged care. The draft core skills occupations list, which will determine which migrants will be granted temporary skilled visas under the new system, is set to be completed later this year.
Mildren's occupation as a "marketing specialist" falls into a somewhat middle ground on the draft list. It was not included on the provisional list of in-demand skills, but it was also not excluded. Instead, it was listed as "targeted for consultation". However, last month, a separate labour market analysis categorized marketing specialists as having "no shortage" instead of being in "shortage". These developments have made Mildren worry about her future in Australia.
The draft core skills list has sparked controversy as some occupations, such as yoga and martial arts instructors, dog handlers, and jewellery designers, made the cut while tradie occupations like plumbers, roof tilers, and bricklayers were only slated for further consideration. The Grattan Institute, a think tank, has highlighted the potential risks of limiting the occupations eligible for skilled visas, stating that it could prevent Australia from attracting talented migrants who may not fit into the predetermined categories.
Mildren believes that Australia needs to give temporary workers like herself a fair go, especially those who have contributed to the economy by paying taxes for years. She has started an online petition calling on the Department of Home Affairs to assess visa applications on a case-by-case basis. The thought of having to leave Australia after investing so much time and money is devastating for Mildren. She describes her attachment to the country as her "whole adulthood" and compares it to being in a toxic relationship.
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