GOVERNMENT IMMIGRATION POLICY:

All governments control who is allowed to enter and live in their country. The Australian Parliament enacted the Migration Act 1958 to regulate the entry and stay in Australia of non citizens. The Migration Regulations 1994 set out important provisions giving effect to the Act. The legislation largely reflects the policies of the party in Government.

Australian citizens have the right to travel from and to Australia without restriction. Anyone else who wishes to travel to or stay in Australia on a temporary or permanent basis must obtain a visa.

There are over 140 different Australian visas, each with their own rules for eligibility. If these rules are not met a visa cannot be granted. It is important that people who are considering applying for a visa are aware of the requirements they must meet in order to be successful.

WHO CAN MIGRATE TO AUSTRALIA?

People who want to live permanently in Australia must apply to migrate or, if they are already in Australia, apply to change the status to permanent resident.

It is generally accepted that Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens should be able to sponsor their spouses and dependent children to Australia. While the main visa criterion for these visas is the relationship with the Australian relative, other criteria must also be satisfied. These criteria include health, character and other public interest criteria.

In recent years the migration program has been used to supplement work skills and expand the business sector in Australia. Skill and economic criteria are important in many (non family) migration categories.

OVERVIEW OF VISA CATEGORIES:
Bridging
Student
Skilled Migration
Temporary Workers
Employer Nominated Migration
Business Skills
Refugee, Humanitarian and Protection Visas
Family
New Zealand Citizens
Other permanent visas

Follow the tabs to view further information about the current visa subclasses.

AUSTRALIAN CITIZENSHIP:

It is possible for people to apply to become an Australian citizen after having spent a period of time in Australia as a permanent resident.

Some people are citizens of more than one country. Australian law allows for children born with Australian citizenship and citizenship of another country to hold dual citizenship. However, laws of a few other countries may require the child to decide at a certain age which citizenship they want to keep.

Australian citizens may also get duel citizenship if they automatically gain citizenship of their spouse’s country when they marry.

People from some countries will lose their citizenship if they become Australian citizens.

VISA is happy to assist you with assessing your eligibility and applying for citizenship and information on dual citizenship.

The Australian Migration Regulations change on a constant basis and therefore to attain up-to-date legislative requirements you need to contact a registered migration agent or the Department of Immigration & Border Patrol (DIBP).

Disclaimer: All information outlined under this section titled “VISAS & CITIZENSHIP” is simply an overview of the various visas available under the migration act. The outlined information can be used as a reference point but cannot be relied upon by individuals to determine whether or not they qualify .