Australia’s permanent visa grants drop to lowest in 11 years

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A total of 160,323 permanent visas were granted during the last financial year – lowest since 2008. The government its due to the population management policy focusing on regional migration.

Australia’s annual permanent migration intake fell to the lowest level in over a decade as the government’s focus shifts towards settling more migrants in regional Australia.

A total of 160,323 permanent visas were granted in 2018-19, while the migration planning level cap remained 190,000. The intake is the lowest since 2008 when under 159,000 visas were issued.

In March 2019, the government cut the annual migration cap by 30,000 to maintain the intake at 160,000 for the next four years & introdution of two regional migration visa compelling migrants to work & settle in regional which will be a pathway to permanent residency.

Immigration Minister David Coleman said the government’s push is now on regional migration.

“Our population plan will ease the pressure on the big capitals while supporting the growth of those smaller cities and regions that want more people,” Mr Coleman said.

“We’ve reduced the cap for the Migration Program from 190,000 to 160,000.