In a joint announcement released a short time ago by the Hon Clare O’Neil MP, Minister for Home Affairs and the Hon Andrew Giles MP, Minsiter for Immigration the government has announced the closure of the Pandemic Event visa (408).
Minister Giles says “The Pandemic Event visa was an important part of Australia’s visa system during the pandemic. Many people on temporary visas helped Australia during this period. We’re providing an opportunity for people who hold a Pandemic Event visa to explore another visa option, or plan to leave Australia.”
Key points:
- From February 2024, the visa will be closed to all applicants. This will provide certainty to our visa system now that the circumstances that drove the operation of the visa no longer exist.
- From 2 September 2023, the Pandemic Event visa will only be open to applications from existing Pandemic Event visa holders.
- All other visa holders will be ineligible for the Pandemic Event visa. This is a transitional measure to promote visa integrity.
- Anyone with a valid Pandemic Event visa will remain lawful until their current visa expires.
- The staged closure of the visa is another measure to ensure the visa system is serving the needs of the Australian people.
- From 2 September 2023, new applications will receive a six month visa. A Visa Application Charge of $405 AUD will also be introduced.
The Koala has recently written about the Sector being Desperate for Action on issues such as the 408 and praises the government for it’s decisive action.
The announcement can be seen in full here.
