Australia will launch a lottery to bring 3000 foreign workers into the country every year under a new law to be proposed that adapts the “green card” system used in the United States to give the winners a pathway to citizenship.
In a departure from decades of visa policy, the federal government will open the scheme to people from across the Pacific so they can apply for permanent residency in the hope of winning the random selection.
But the two-step scheme will require those who succeed at the first stage to secure a job offer in Australia and meet tests to check their health, character and basic English skills before they can arrive. The applicants also have to be aged from 18 to 45.
The Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, says the draft law will be introduced to federal parliament on Thursday with a vow to build up communities in Australia with strong ties to the region.
“This is the first time that we’ve allocated part of our permanent migration allocation to a specific region – and it is revolutionary,” he said.
Countries open to apply for the ballot:
To be granted a visa applicants will need to:
Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji
Kiribati
Nauru
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Source: Office of the Minister for International Development and the Pacific