Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has encouraged international students and backpackers to return to the country, stressing that their visa application fees will be covered by the government for at least the next three months.

In a press conference, Morrison said that the country has taken the decision as it works to recover the economy and fill some of the critical workforce shortages, Erudera.com reports.

A total of 56,000 international students and 24,000 backpackers are expected to benefit from visa rebates in the next eight and twelve weeks. For backpackers, the rebate scheme will be running for 12 weeks, while the process of visa refunds will be done through the Department of Home Affairs.

“What we’ll be doing is we will be rebating the visa application fees from all those who arrive today – today, and going forward – for students over the next eight weeks, and that is a fee of some $630,” Morrison pointed out.