"We can no longer wait in silence like this hopelessly, we must take action." Lucy has been very busy these days. In addition to work, she spends all her spare time in organizing and preparing the parade.
Lucy has a full-time job in Tasmania with a 489 visa. At the end of 2020, she submitted an application for a 887 visa, but now two years are almost over, and the results of the visa review have not been heard from.
"I was going to buy a house in Tasmania for a long time, but I don't have a permanent residence visa. Not only did I need to apply to the FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Committee), the loan amount is also limited, and I also have to pay an overseas stamp duty of 8% of the house payment." Lucy completely dispelled the idea of buying a house.
What bothers her even more is that because she is not qualified to apply for government subsidies, she had to pay her daughter's child care fee in full, up to 105 Australian dollars a day. "Most of my salary is used to pay for the child care fee, and my local colleagues find it incredible!"
However, the "speed" trial progress of the 887 visa made Lucy less and less hope, and the regret of coming to Australia is growing.
Chinese groups represented by Lucy actively organized protests, which is a propaganda poster they designed.
Check Immigration Bureau’s official website, and you can see that the 489 visa is a 4-year temporary transition visa. You can live in a designated remote area for two years within 4 years and have at least one full-time job (work at least 35 hours a week), and then you can apply for a transfer of 887 visa, which is a permanent residence visa specifically for skilled immigrants in remote areas in Australia.
As the Australian government encourages everyone to go to remote areas, the guarantee policies of states in remote areas are relatively relaxed. In addition, the 489 visa was replaced by the stricter 491 visa at the end of 2019. In the second half of 2019, the application for 489 visa was once very popular.
Nowadays, many prospective immigrants who obtained a 489 visa at that time have already met the permanent residence conditions and have submitted an 887 visa application.
data shows that as of the end of March this year, more than 16,400 applications for 887 visas have been backlogged. Data from early April showed that the backlog of 887 applications reached 17,200, which means that nearly 800 applications have been added in less than a month.
But what about the review progress?
data shows that since last year, the review of the 887 visa has been stuck at the application submitted before September 2020. From the end of March 2021 to February this year, the maximum number of 887 visas approved per month does not exceed 300, and 90% of applicants will have to wait for at least two years.
"Compared with the speed of other visas, the 887 visa seems to have been forgotten by the Immigration Bureau." Lucy said that in May and June last year, the number of approvals for 887 was only a pitiful 7 and 11. During the same period, the approval volume of 189 independent skilled immigration and 190 states guaranteed were more than 1,000, or even more than 2,000, and even 491 temporary visas had nearly a thousand approval volumes.
Lucy hopes that prospective immigrants who are still waiting for the trial of 887 can participate in the march. "We must make our own voice and attract the attention and attention of the government and the public!"
The delayed life
Jade is preparing to participate in the march in Adelaide on September 30. She submitted her visa application for 887 at the beginning of last year.
"Most of our group of people got a 489 visa before the epidemic, because the conditions for 489 to 887 permanent residence are not complicated. At that time, I felt that immigration was in sight."
However, the epidemic came in early 2020, and the whole world was forced to press the pause button, borders were blocked, and the economy was shut down. "Many Chinese friends around me who had a 489 visa were unemployed and were not eligible to receive any epidemic subsidies. Everything could only be supported by gritting their teeth. Many people could not stand it, but more 489 visa holders chose to persevere."
Jade worked as a nurse in Adelaide. During the epidemic, he undertakes important work such as injecting new crown vaccine for residents of the community.
"I was going to learn new nursing courses, buy a house after getting PR, and plan to ask for a baby, but without a permanent residence visa, all this cannot be achieved. Some friends who are in similar situations as me have switched to Canada, and I may also consider going to other countries to continue my life."
Because I was unable to get a permanent residence visa for a long time, I was forced to press the pause button in my life. Jade is not an isolated case.
As we all know, in Australia, most high-paying and stable jobs require applicants to have permanent residence status, and many people who get temporary visas can only engage in some low-skilled and low-paying jobs. Data shows that wages for Australian locals have increased by nearly 20% in the past 10 years, but the wages of immigrants in the near future have almost no increase, let alone room for promotion!
In addition to the restricted career development, immigrants in recent years will also encounter various resource inequality.
Yang, who runs a small supermarket in a remote area of Victoria, chose to immigrate to Australia for his children's education. After two years of waiting for the 887 visa, Yang had to send his children to study in the UK.
"My son graduated from high school with excellent grades and received admission notices from Monash University and a famous British university. However, since there is no PR, the child needs to pay international students to attend Monash, which is no less than studying in a better university in the UK. The so-called educational equity is just a castle in the air for children waiting for permanent residence visas, so the child resolutely chose to go to the UK."
Why is he treated unfairly
In order to cope with labor shortage and promote economic development, in early August, Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles announced that the government will give priority to key overseas visa applications, including temporary visas, student visas and visitor visas, which means that domestic applications may be further extended, which also makes many 887 applicants even more anxious.
The unfair treatment of the 887 visa made Jenny, who lives in a remote area of Queensland, very dissatisfied.
"Even during the epidemic, we applicants of 887 insist on fulfilling their commitment to the government, working diligently to pay taxes, and spare no effort to contribute their strength to Australia's social operations and economic recovery. We should not be treated so unfairly." Jenny believes that the Australian government's approach will only disappoint more prospective immigrants who have already worked in Australia to pay taxes.
"Do you really need someone who can work in Australia for a long time and pay taxes on time?" Jenny was very puzzled.
In Jenny's view, the government's so marginalized 887 trial is nothing more than thinking, "Anyway, you have already stepped into the threshold, and I'm sure you won't leave either, so let's hold you down first!"
8
887 trial is so delayed. A senior immigration agent said in an interview with the media that 887 visa approval does not occupy the permanent residence quota for each fiscal year, and the review process is not complicated and does not require too long.
Before 2020, the visa waiting time is only 3 to 6 months. The progress is so fast now that the Immigration Bureau gave the reason that the epidemic has caused a shortage of staff. However, compared with the review progress of visas of other categories, 887 is obviously too outrageous.
htmlIn mid-August, hundreds of 887 visa applicants marched and demonstrated on the streets of Adelaide, requiring the Immigration Bureau to speed up the approval of 887 visas. In response, the Ministry of the Interior responded that it will mobilize the entire department and border law enforcement staff to improve visa processing capabilities, while also considering simplifying the visa processing process.
data shows that since the Australian border reopened, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued more than 1.4 million visas, but 1.22 million of them were issued to overseas applicants.
Jenny said: "We have fulfilled our promises, and the government should not ignore us. We organize the march in the hope that the government can treat us fairly, treat our 887 visa applicants equally, and speed up the approval speed. This is a win-win situation for both sides."
Nowadays, the rare labor shortage has forced Australia's immigration policies to be fully exerted. In order to promote the economic development of remote areas, the Australian government has also been actively encouraging immigrants to go to remote areas.
However, the unfair treatment of the 887 visa and the severely delayed trial progress made many prospective immigrants in remote areas disappointed and wanted to leave.
. This practice will only lead to the loss of more talents in Australia, and will also make many people who are full of expectations of Australia feel doubtful, which is even more unfavorable to the remote area immigration plan actively promoted by the government!
post-epidemic era, the global talent battle has begun. It is time for the current government to take action, attract and retain talents!
*The above content is reproduced from Australian Finance News
