Australia to offer 1,000 work and holiday visas to Indians starting Oct 1

New Delhi: Australia will begin offering up to 1,000 Work and Holiday visas each year to Indian citizens October 1 onwards, as part of its commitment under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) which came into effect December 2022.

“During the visit, happy to learn that Work & Holiday visa, a key commitment under India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement will be operational from 1st October 2024 which will facilitate mobility and deepen people-to-people connect,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said in a post on X Thursday.

Goyal was on a three-day visit to Australia from September 23-26.

As per the ECTA, Indian nationals aged 18 to 30 can apply for a one-year visa to work, study, and travel across Australia. Canberra will implement a Work and Holiday arrangement for Indian citizens within two years of entry into force of the Agreement.

It would annually grant up to 1000 multiple entry ‘first’ Work and Holiday visas for temporary stay for a period of twelve calendar months to Indian citizens who meet the eligibility requirements under Australian legislation.

The two sides are now negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

“The visit allowed both sides to review progress of CECA and implementation of ECTA initiatives. In addition, several interactions with Australian and Indian businesses in Sydney will lead to enhancement of trade and investment ties between the two countries,” the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement.

The two sides also discussed the target of achieving AUD 100 billion bilateral trade by 2030 and enhancement of cooperation at multilateral and other regional forums- G20, IPEF and WTO, including the Domestic Services Regulation issue.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/work/australia-to-offer-1000-work-and-holiday-visas-to-indians-starting-oct-1/articleshow/113704667.cms