2022

Migration Roundup

2022 summary

For Australia’s migration and study abroad landscape, 2022 can be divided into two distinct phases.

First Half — Light at the End of the Tunnel

Second Half — Clouds Finally Lifting

Unlike the years before it, 2022 was marked by welcome surprises — and even genuine astonishment.

Whether you were waiting to return to campus, to enter Australia, for an invitation or for your visa to be granted — many of you finally got there in 2022.

2022 was truly a landmark year for Australian migration.

And Newstars was there with you through every one of those exciting milestones.

Let’s take a look back together through the highlights from our articles this year.

21 February

2022

Visa holders of all categories were permitted to enter Australia — marking the full reopening of Australia’s borders to all visa holders!

Official: Australia opens borders to all visa categories from 21 February — everyone can return!

29 March

2022

On 29 March, the outgoing Coalition government released its 2022–23 Federal Budget, announcing a significant increase to the skilled migration overall allocation, with parent migration rising to 6,000 places. The government also exceptionally added 10,000 extra skilled migration places mid-financial year. The incoming Labor government later built further on this foundation — a clear signal that skilled migration was poised for a strong recovery.

Major boost: 491/189 quotas more than double in the new financial year; 190 and employer-sponsored places surge!

22 May

2022

On 22 May, the Labor Party won the federal election, ending the Coalition’s long time in government. The positive impact of the new government on migration has since become clear to everyone.

Labor wins! Will Australian migration policy improve under the new government?

Confirmed: Labor’s left faction takes the Immigration portfolio, familiar with migration affairs; a progressive post-80s figure heads Home Affairs!

Early June

2022

The new Immigration Minister’s first official statement:near 1 million visa applications in the backlog would be prioritised immediately.

Finally! Immigration Minister confirms: instructions issued to prioritise the visa backlog and cut processing times — especially for skilled migration!

27 June

2022

485 replacement visalegislation details were released, and shortly after, a wave of Subclass 485 approvals flooded in — marking a turning point in Australia’s welcome-back of international students and graduates.

[485 Replacement legislation released] Applications and grants available onshore and offshore! Who can apply under the old TR provisions without a skills assessment?

Visa approvals pouring in overnight — a ‘downpour’ of work visa grants is here! A golden 2–5 year window ahead; how to plan your pathway to PR and an invitation?

11 August

2022

Victoria announced its state nomination requirements for 2022–23, opening to all occupations and later removing the mandatory employment requirement. Victoria — which had historically been less generous — led the charge by holding the largest Subclass 190 quota and slashing its requirements to the greatest extent, broadening eligible applicants and occupations. This marked the beginning of the financial year’s fierce state nomination competition.

Victoria opens new financial year state nomination with expanded occupations!

22 August

2022

Subclass 189 issued over 10,000 invitations in its first round of the financial year, the first invitation wave of that scale in years — signalling the revival of the skilled independent migration stream.

189 invitation surge: major score cuts across several occupations! Western Australia competing for talent, lowering work and language requirements and expanding occupations!

2 September

2022

Official confirmation: the 2022–23 PR allocation is raised to 195,000 places — the significance of this news speaks for itself.

Official: PR quota rises to 195,000 this financial year; 190 gains 11,000 extra places, regional state-nomination adds 9,000; $36 million to clear the visa backlog!

1 November

2022

A landmark announcement signalling a ‘new era’ in visa processing.

Minister’s new directive: explicit priority for 190/189/491/887 and other skilled visas — will it actually speed things up? NSW state nomination opens a new stream tomorrow!

8 December

2022

35,000 Subclass 189 invitations — a historic record.Many who had waited for years were finally on their way. Many former international student graduates were reconsidering their pathways. This was, without question, the single biggest migration news of the 2022–23 financial year.

189 major releases! Accounting 85, Auditing 75 — huge numbers of IT/Engineering/offshore applicants invited at low scores! The most complete dataset breakdown!

8 December

2022

Final state nomination allocations for 2022–23 are confirmed.Spurred by the same-day release of 35,000 Subclass 189 invitations and an increased state nomination quota, a fresh round of state nomination competition kicked off — NSW led by removing all occupation pre-requirement conditions, with Western Australia, Canberra and others joining the race.

[Issue 264 — Australia Migration Weekly] 189 adds more good news? NZ stream suspends new applications! NSW 190 drops occupation pre-requirement — 7,000+ places up for grabs!

2022→2023

Reviewing the year’s articles, we found there was simply too much good news to cover everything in detail — we had to ‘skip over’ many of the finer state nomination updates, and we haven’t even touched on individual study and migration stories. Especially in the second half of the year,there was a sense of almost not being able to keep up with it all.Some applicants were recently agonising over whether to go for 189 or 190 — that kind of ‘happy problem’ really hadn’t been seen for a very long time.

To everyone who got their visa approved or received their invitation in 2022 — congratulations!

To everyone still waiting on a grant or an invitation in 2023 — our best wishes are with you!

In the new year, Newstars continues to support you every step of the way — study abroad, migration, and visa services.

Tap to read more articles

Past Highlights

189 backlog grows by 14,000 — is it really faster than 190? 491 scores finally drop

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With Queensland’s investor migration closed, what are the alternatives?

Accounting, IT, Engineering and more — a great chance to secure 190 with just 70 points

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Reply to us on WeChat Official Account withthe numbers or keywords below (not in the article comment section), to receive the most up-to-date migration information. Reply [A] for the full topic index.

Reply: 0000 → See the 16 Nov policy update (491 + skilled migration points test)

Reply: 000 → Latest visa / citizenship processing wait times

Reply: 001 → Latest Subclass 189 EOI official report

Reply: 002 → Subclass 189 Skilled Independent migration

Reply: 003 → Subclass 190 state nomination by state

Reply: 004 → Subclass 489 regional state nomination

Reply: 005 → International student entrepreneur and investor migration

Reply: 006 → Parent migration visa

Reply: 007 → Employer-sponsored visa

Reply: 008 → Subclass 485 visa

Reply: 009 → Partner migration / points bonus

Reply: 010 → Work experience points

Reply: 011 → PY points bonus

Reply: 012 → NAATI/CCL points bonus

Reply: 013 → Regional area points bonus

Reply: 014 → Visitor / family visit visa

Reply: 015 → Working holiday visa

Reply: 016 → TAFE study

Reply: 017 → Australian international student migration to Canada

Reply: 018 → Subclass 407 Training visa

Reply: 019 → Subclass 408 Temporary Activity visa

Reply: 020 → New Zealand migration

Backlog down 400,000 by year-end! Is temporary-to-permanent conversion the reform priority?the ‘Read Original’ link for the Migration Weekly — video edition

2022 Australia Skilled Migration Annual Review — A Historic Year Worth Remembering

189 backlog grows by 14,000 — is it really faster than 190? 491 scores finally drop

With Queensland’s investor migration closed, what are the alternatives?

Accounting, IT, Engineering and more — a great chance to secure 190 with just 70 points

Accounting, IT, Engineering and more — a great chance to secure 190 with just 70 points

Accounting, IT, Engineering and more — a great chance to secure 190 with just 70 points

Accounting, IT, Engineering and more — a great chance to secure 190 with just 70 points

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