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Australia is preparing to grant 1,000 work visas and holiday visas annually to Indian citizens from October 1, 2024. The move is part of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), which comes into force from December 2022. This initiative is being considered a major step towards enhancing relations between the two countries, especially mobility and people-to-people contacts.
Work and Holiday Visa will come into effect from 1 October 2024
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has praised this initiative. He recently returned from his one-day trip to Australia. “During the visit, it was heartening to note that Work and Holiday Visas, a key commitment under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, will become operational from October 1, 2024, facilitating travel,” Goyal said in a post on Twitter. And contact between people will deepen.”
Who can take advantage of it?
This visa will be available to Indian citizens aged between 18 to 30 years, giving them the opportunity to stay in Australia for up to 12 months. During this time they can work, study and travel in Australia. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria set by Australian law to qualify. This visa has a multiple-entry provision, allowing recipients to re-enter Australia during the validity period.
Cooperation on multilateral and regional forums
Goyal's visit was important to review the progress in expanding AI-ECTA into Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). Both countries aim to take forward existing trade agreements. It aims to take bilateral trade to 100 billion Australian dollars by 2030. The two countries also discussed enhancing cooperation in multilateral and regional forums to further strengthen economic ties.
Meanwhile, India and Egypt held the 6th session of the India-Egypt Joint Trade Committee (JTC) in New Delhi on September 16-17, 2024. During this, key areas of cooperation including trade and investment, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, engineering and electronics manufacturing in the Suez Canal Economic Zone were identified. The Government of India also announced that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and the Egyptian MSME Development Agency (MSMEDA) has been approved.