New Delhi: Starting today (July 1, 2023) Indian students pursuing courses in Australia can apply to work in the country without visa sponsorship for up to eight years from July 1 under the Mobility Ar

New Delhi: Starting today (July 1, 2023) Indian students pursuing courses in Australia can apply to work in the country without visa sponsorship for up to eight years from July 1 under the Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES).  The key feature of this agreement is that it will open up 3,000 spots annually for young professionals from India to spend two years in Australia without needing a visa sponsorship.

The scheme will offer a new mobility pathway for Indian graduates and early career professionals with skills in targeted fields to live and work in Australia.

Indian professionals from fields including engineering, information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology, renewable energy and mining are also eligible for this visa, the new rules say.

The eligible fields for the MATES visa include:

• Engineering
• Mining
• Financial technology
• Artificial intelligence
• Information & Communication Technology
• Agricultural Technology
• Renewal Energy

Eligibility for MATES visa are:

• Candidate must be below the age of 31
• Must have graduated from a recognized and verified university
• Must be a recent pass-out
• Must be at an early stage of their career.

Australia visa processing

Australia said this April that it intends to overhaul its immigration system to speed up getting highly skilled workers into the country.

In a bid to lure skilled migrants, the government said the visa process for high-skilled professionals will be made swift and easy, and steps would be taken to retain international students.

In September last year, Australia raised its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 this financial year, up by 35,000, to help businesses battling widespread staff shortages and pledged more staff and funds to speed up visa processing.

How to apply for the MATES Visa?

Step 1: Check your eligibility.

Step 2: Get the English proficiency test.

Step 3: Get the skills assessment test.

Step 4: Register your EOI (Expression of Interest).

Step 5: Get your ITA (Invitation to Apply).

Step 6: Submit the application

Step 7: Fly to Australia

Australia work-hour cap

Also, starting July 1, the allowable work-hour cap for international students will be increased from 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight, along with a two year work visa extension.

The revised cap will help international students to support themselves through their studies, while maintaining study as the primary purpose of their visa.

Student visa work restrictions were relaxed throughout the pandemic, and they were completely removed in January 2022 to allow primary and secondary student visa holders to work over their normal limit of 40 hours per fortnight to address workforce shortages.

The government also announced that a two-year extension of post-study work rights is available for international graduates with select degrees that are in areas of verified skill shortage.

This extension will give eligible international higher education graduates an additional two years on their Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). The extension is in addition to the existing additional one to two years of work rights for eligible students who study, live, and work in regional areas.

For select Bachelor degrees, post-study work rights will be increased from two to four years, three to five years for select Masters degree, and four to six years for all doctoral qualifications.

There are 1,00,009 Indian students studying across various Australian universities, according to a 2022 Ministry of External Affairs data.