Allocation of Australian Spouse Visas Increased
June 9, 2006
The Minister of Immigration has put the brakes on Australia's skilled migration intake but has increased the allocation of migrant spouse visas. The current level of 97,500 places for skilled migrants was established off the back of a record 20,000 places for the 2005-2006 period.
Despite the freeze in skilled migration, Senator Amanda Vanstone said the greater global mobility of young Australians and the larger sponsorship base created by increases in skilled migration had led to the greater number of migrant spouse visas to be allocated. An extra 3000 partner visas would be provided this financial year, taking the total intake to 36,300. A further 1000 would be added to that in 2006-2007.