By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter

Australia has rejected 20,000 immigration applications, including those by hundreds of Korean nationals, in a major overhaul aimed at attracting highly skilled labor, the Australian immigration minister said.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the current occupations-in-demand list, which covered 106 occupations, will be scrapped immediately and replaced with a "more targeted" skilled occupations list to be introduced in the second half of the year.

The cancellation will affect not only about 800 Korean nationals, who have applied for permanent immigration under the General Skilled Migration Program (GSM), but also several thousands of Koreans who have been preparing to immigrate to the country under the scheme.

Some 11,500 Korean people are reportedly learning skills at private vocational schools to gain permanent Australian resident status under the GSM visa program.

"Tens of hundreds of Koreans studying here have been caught off-guard by the report," an official of the Korean Society of Australia said.

"If they knew such a change would be made earlier, many of them would have studied another field or have spent their time more wisely," she said in a telephone interview with The Korea Times.

Canberra is also reviewing its points system in which potential migrants score marks based on qualifications, skills and proficiency in English.

"The current points test puts an overseas student with a short-term vocational qualification gained in Australia ahead of a Harvard-educated environmental scientist," said Minister Evans.

He noted that Australia needs a demand-driven migration program, rather than a supply-demand one to address shortages in the healthcare, engineering and mining sectors.

"The new arrangements will give first priority to skilled migrants who have a job to go to with an Australian employer. For those who don't have an Australian employer willing to sponsor them, the bar is being raised," Chris said.

Australia's skilled migration program rose from 108,540 to 114,780 between July 2008 and June 2009, according to the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Some 5,200 Korean nationals received their green card during the period, up from roughly 4,950 a year ago.

The immigration department said it will refund about $12.2 million of visa fees to affected applicants.

Fitch, a leading credit ratings agency, earlier this month warned of skills shortages in Australia's energy and mining sectors, saying it might lead to higher costs.

leeth@koreatimes.co.kr