A huge win for the children of migrants that we have been fighting so hard for.
-
20 hours work rights have been granted to 18+ yrs olds holding visitor visas after applying for R21.
-
THIS IS BIG - 18+ year olds can go to college/Uni paying domestic fees even before their families’ Residence 21 Visas are lodged. This means rather than waiting the 12 months for residence to be approved, these young people can enrol now and start studying term one next year.
While this is great news it is SERIOUSLY too late. We have had young peole stuck at home unable to work or study for up to two years becuse of the visa processing delays caused by this Government. I have been calling for work rights all year for these young people and the Minister said a big NO every time even though we had a massive labour shortage and it was not difficult to amend instructions to allow work rights.