Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has dropped a bombshell.
Turnbull has announced that the 457 visa – which brings skilled workers into the country – is to be abolished, a move that could affect the many Irish people who move to Australia to work from year to year.
The change to a new temporary visa will not affect those who have already moved Down Under.
“We are abolishing the 457 visas – the visas that bring temporary foreign workers into our country,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a video Facebook post.
The move is aimed at giving preference to Australians for jobs first, while the new visa will assess English skills, work history, police checks and skills shortages.
“We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs,” he said.
“We’ll no longer allow 457 visas to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians.”
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