Canberra in visa exemption for HK and BN(O) passports
The Australian government has exempted Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders from a stricter age limit for applying for temporary graduate visas which could lead to permanent residency.
The announcement followed panic among mature students from Hong Kong studying in Australia after Canberra tightened immigration rules.
With the exemption, Hongkongers under the age of 50 will be able to continue applying for five-year graduate visas, while all other candidates must be no more than 35 years old.
“We are grateful for the special arrangement by the Australian government amid the reform of its immigration system,” said Australia-based Jane Poon, a leader of the community group Australia-Hong Kong Link.
“Student visa holders can now breathe a sigh of relief and feel reassured as they plan their emigration.”
The Australian government announced on Thursday it would enforce a stricter age limit for temporary graduate visa applications, as part of a new migration strategy made public last December for foreign students. From July 1, the maximum eligible age for applying for the visas would be reduced to 35 years of age, it said.
Canberra’s new measure sought to address the country’s record-high migration levels.
“Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders will continue to be eligible provided they are under 50 years of age,” it said.
The new rules had sparked panic among 2,000 mature students from Hong Kong who were over 30, as many feared being booted out upon graduation before they could get residency.
Last month, the Australian government also said Hongkongers applying for temporary graduate work visas leading to permanent residence would be exempted from tougher new English-language requirements that came into effect for all other applicants from March 23.
Applicants other than Hongkongers need a minimum score of 6.5 out of a maximum of nine marks in a language test, instead of six marks previously.
In 2020, the Australian government announced it would launch a bespoke immigration scheme for Hongkongers as a response to Beijing’s national security law.
Launched in March 2022, the scheme granted permanent residence to a total of 1,050 Hongkongers who met the requirement in the first two years, according to the Canberra government’s figures.
Canberra amended its migration regulations to create the “safe haven” policy only for Hongkongers in 2021, enabling those who were already studying or working in Australia to be eligible to obtain residency after staying for three to four years.
The scheme doubled the number of applications for temporary graduate visas, from about 700 annually before the announcement of the pathway to some 1,450 in each of the past three financial years.
It also caused the number of mature students from Hong Kong applying to Australian universities to spike, lured in part to secure permanent residence.
Around 130 mature students aged 35 to 44 applied each year for student visas before the announcement of the bespoke scheme, but the number jumped over three times after the introduction of the pathway.
The number of dependents affiliated with the student applicants also increased about five times, from 20 to more than 100 annually.