Engineering graduates blocked from coming to Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic will have their visas extended, answering a long campaign from applicants desperately pushing for action.
Saif Alnajam was among those whose plans to begin a life in Australia were upended when the Australian government shut the international border to foreign nationals in March 2020.
After packing his bags, selling his furniture and saying goodbye to his home of 19 years in Malaysia, Mr Alnajam was ready to fill an engineering shortage in Australia.
But COVID-19 put the brakes on the 28-year-old's dream as his visa expired while waiting for the borders to reopen.
Mr Alnajam said the government’s decision to extend the visas came after months of pleading for the response and rejected applications to the Department of Home Affairs.
“I just lost it [when I found out] — I started screaming and going crazy,” he told SBS News.
“It has always been a dream to go to Australia and work there as an engineer. This means a second chance of getting your dream back.”
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said skilled-recognised graduate (subclass 476) visa holders who lost time or had their visa expire will have them extended by 24 months.
There are several thousand subclass 476 visa holders facing the situation, according to the government.
"It has been extremely tough. It’s just unbelievable to get it now,” Mr Alnajam said.
“At some points, we thought we [were] not going to get this back.”
Mr Hawke said the response would allow current and former visa holders in this class to enter or remain in Australia until April 2024.
“This measure recognises the importance of qualified engineers to Australia’s economy particularly as we continue to manage the COVID-19 recovery,” Mr Hawke said.
The extensions will apply to people with expired visas, providing they were unable to use the full length of their original visa due to COVID-19 international travel restrictions.
Greens Senator Nick McKim Source: SBS News / SBS News
Greens Senator Nick McKim who has campaigned on behalf of the visa holders said the response was “welcome” but also “long overdue” from the government.
“It was inexplicable the government didn’t include 476 visa holders in their previous tranche of announcements around extensions and reinstatements,” he told SBS News.
“These are graduate engineers — there is a real need for engineers in Australia and there are significant skill shortages across a range of engineering disciplines.”
An identified engineers as a key shortfall, which could impact future projects.
Mr McKim also said he remained concerned Bridging visa B holders were a subclass, which had not been permitted to apply for extensions for expired visas.
“This is simply about fairness and natural justice for people who were stuck overseas through no fault of their own as a result of the COVID travel restrictions,” he said.
Visa holders given chance to extend stay in Australia
Separately, Mr Hawke has also announced temporary visa holders with work rights will be able to access a specialised visa, offering the chance to extend their stay in Australia.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Event (Subclass 408) visa will offer these visa holders the chance to remain in Australia for six to 12 months, if they work in any sector of the economy.
They would also incur no visa application charge while filing an application for this visa.
Presently, the visa class covers those working in or with offers to work in agriculture, food processing, health care, aged care, disability care, child care, and tourism and hospitality.
The new arrangements will only be available for applications made on or after 21 February 2022.
Mr Hawke said removing sector limitation on the visa would provide further support to Australian businesses to retain temporary migrants.
“With unemployment at record lows, the Government is providing targeted incentives for skilled workers to remain in Australia,” he said.
“Government has listened carefully to the needs of our industries and we are introducing these changes to support Australia’s COVID-19 economic recovery."
Australia reopened its international borders to all fully vaccinated visa holders from 21 February.
This came after initially opening to skilled migrants and international students in December last year.
