As part of the Albanese Labour government’s recent announcements, the Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) program was anticipated to commence on the 1st July 2023. Intending to provide permanent residence for participating countries across the Pacific and Timor-Leste, up to 3000 places were expected to be allocated via a ballot or lottery system with the purpose of growing Australia’s Pacific diaspora and building on our people-to-people connections.
Significant progress was made with regard to the critical details of the visa, however contentions surrounding the delivery of the program and balloting process were put forth in the Senate inquiry, with submissions being put forth on behalf of representatives of Australian businesses, farmers and Pacific diaspora. The Opposition has indicated that whilst support for the PEV is provided in principle, they call for the PEV eligibility to be restricted to temporary Pacific migrations already in Australia via means of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.
Whilst it is clear that the intended start date has been missed, it would be remiss of Australia to ignore the need to regional cooperation to execute the program and importance of strategic visa allocations to neighboring pacific countries in the face of intense geostrategic competition.
The program is critical to promoting solidarity and pacific engagement within our region, by enabling a pathway to permanent residence to our neighbors within limited permanent migration opportunities to Australia or developed nations.
The proposed criteria for primary applicants of the visa is as follows:
- Aged between 18 to 45 for entry
- Selection through the ballot process
- Primary applicant or spouse securing a formal on-going job offer in Australia
- Meet English language, character and health checks
- Passport holder of a participating country
- Born in or have a parent born in a participating country
Further details of the program including ballot and eligibility is anticipated towards the commencement of the program.
The program is expected to include measures to aid settlement such as program outreach, access to Australia’s health care, public schools and a mechanism to connect successful applicants of varying skill levels with employers in Australia.
Crystal Migration will provide alerts once further announcements have been made.
Source:
https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pev-palm-faq.pdf