Migration Update : 27 May 2024
1. Increases minimum funds requirements for Student visa
As of 10 May 2024, primary applicants must show funds of at least AUS$29,710 (US$19,537), a 21% increase on the previous amount of AUS$24,505.
2. The Australian government launches a working holiday visa lottery for some applicants.
Hopeful working holidaymakers from China, India and Vietnam will have to pay $25 to enter a randomised ballot for a limited number of visas from July 2024.
- Vietnam faces a cap of 1,500 and has already closed to applications for this financial year
- Applications from China exceeded the 5,000-visa cap from 2015 to 2019, but fell to 4,573 in 2022-23 then to zero this financial year, after Home Affairs suspended applications to the program due to high interest
- Other countries with demand exceeding their caps have not been shifted to a lottery system, such as Thailand, which is allocated a cap of 2,000