Australian Migration Rules
Australian immigration rules are the subject of this part of our guide to emigrating to Australia…
About a quarter of Australia’s population of 20 million was born outside of the country and every year over 120,000 new migrants arrive in the country under the Migration Act 1958 and its accompanying regulations, the application of which is the responsibility of the Department of Immigration and Culture (DIAC).
A universal visa system is in place, which means that all non-citizens (not including citizens of New Zealand) must have a visa to to gain entry to Australia and that all non-citizens in Australia who don’t hold a valid visa are there unlawfully and are liable for detention and removal. To get a visa, you must lodge an application with the DIAC under one of their visa programs, and submit the subsequent fee (which differs from program to program).
The various visa programs on offer (retirement, skilled, employer sponsored, etc.) all have their specific terms and criteria that must be met. If you mistakenly apply for the incorrect one, or you don’t convince the Australian government that you qualify for it, your application will be rejected without refund of the application fee.
Your sex, religion, race, ethnic origin and nationality play no part in determining eligibility, but factors like medical history, age, previous visa history, character, criminal records, and overstay risk, do. It’s a transparent procedure though and you have the right to appeal to an independent review tribunal if you consider that you’ve been unfairly discriminated against.
Separate migration and humanitarian programs are used, so as to offer a balance between the Australian Government’s economic, social and environmental objectives and Australia’s international humanitarian obligations. There are annual limits on each of these and after they’re reached no more immigrants are given entry until the next year.
