Australia to tighten immigration rules, curb visa overstays and families

The Australian government will target visa overstayers and restrict most students from bringing family members as it seeks to align migration with Australia's needs better

Australia’s center-left government is set to outline plans to reduce immigration on Thursday, including a clampdown on people who have overstayed their visas and restricting most people on student visas from bringing family into the country.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will outline the changes in a long-delayed speech to the National Press Club titled “The work of managing the migration program: Who arrives, who stays, who leaves.”

The plan will target people who move from one visa class to another to extend their stay in the country, students and temporary workers, as well as their family members, according to a statement from Burke. The government will also introduce a “no further stay” condition to all visitor visas, in an attempt to ensure that these are genuinely temporary and don’t become a pathway to staying in the country long-term.

“Almost everyone who comes to Australia is a good guest in our country,” Burke said. “These reforms are to ensure that our migration system can be better targeted to the current needs of Australia.”