Unfazed by the recent wave of violence against Indians, the Australian government on Wednesday said it was looking for young professionals from India, but only in areas where there was a skill shortage. Canberra is making its migration policy need-based and hence gaining permanent residency there would not be easy anymore.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans was candid in stating that they were not interested in granting permanent residency status to all streams of overseas workers. “The priorities for migration must be based on the needs of the Australian economy. Therefore the skills and qualifications we seek in migrants will vary over time,” he said.

From India, Australia wants to attract young migrants with high quality skills in fields like IT, health and engineering. To this effect, Australia would organise a skills expo in India next year. He also made it clear that studying in Australia would not give a person automatic access to permanent residency.

“The Australian Government will adjust the (skilled stream migration) programme to meet out national needs and not be driven by the education choice of overseas students,” he said. Australia has already announced a review of its Migration Occupations in Demand List.

“People want good quality education, and we are happy to provide it. Afterwards if those students then want to seek permanent residency on the basis of the qualification they acquired, they are welcome to do so, but we will be selecting those students on the basis of the skills we need,” he elaborated at a function here.

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