Visa closure of Subclass 408

Visa closure of Subclass 408 : Mubin Ul Haider

NO MORE NEW APPLICATIONS AND EXISTING VISA HOLDERS OF SUBCLASS 408 TO REMAIN AND EXPLORE OTHER OPTIONS.

As we all know, when COVID-19 came around it changed how we all lived during the 21^st Century – more specifically during the periods of 2020 -2022. However, during 2022, the existence of COVID-19 became normalised as society began to gradually adjust to the pandemic, especially now that there were available medical resources to treat patients with COVID-19. During the height of the pandemic, the Australian Government put in place a special visa called, ‘The Pandemic Event Visa (Subclass 408) to help accommodate for international students who were trapped in Australia, and to assist with the labour shortages because of the pandemic.

The purpose of the visa allowed eligible applicants to work unlimited hours for 12 months, and opened the opportunity for them to include any family members who were also part of their application.However, after the Department of Home Affairs noticed a high figure of applicants who were currently still on this temporary visa and it being abused for these applicants to extend their stay in Australia, the Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles announced last week on Thursday, 31 August 2023, that the 408 pandemic event would be closed to all new applicants from Friday, 1 September 2023.

As of Friday, 1 September 2023, the flood of new applications coming through on this temporary visa (408 pandemic event) was stopped due to the reasons provided, including the fact that most of the conditions that led to its creation no longer existed. However, it will only be open to applicants who are currently still existing holders of the visa and will permanently be closed from February 2024.Before the 408 visa permanently comes to a close, the Ministers of the Home Affairs and Immigration are giving these existing holders the opportunity to explore another visa option or prepare to leave Australia.

Although, this may seem like a closing of one opportunity for immigrants, there are still other pathways for our international visa holders to explore. For more information on your visa options, please visit the Department of Home Affairs for further information.

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