PRIOR to the mandated lockdowns in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the five Desti-Nations already had a large pool of potential workers on standby. Student visa applications from the Philippines increased from 4,621 to 6,072 in 2019 to 2020 representing a 31.4-percent increase. After completing the 18-month temporary graduate visa, the graduate moves on to apply for permanent residency through SkillSelect. Next door, Immigration New Zealand currently has a backlog of more than 16,000 residence applications in the skilled migrant and work categories. As in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, international graduate students are an important source of labor for many universities.

Source: Manila Times October 04, 2020 15:56 UTC