Buying Property In Australia

The Sydney Opera House is one of Australia's most famous landmarks

Australia tops the polls when it comes to which countries most Britons would choose to emigrate to. It helps that English is the mother tongue down under, but the main lure for most of us living in cold northern climes is the pretty much year-round sunshine in the Antipodes.

By Gordon Miller

Getting A Visa

Everyone except Australian passport holders need a visa in order to be able to enter Australia. It doesn't matter whether you just want to go for a day, a short holiday, to visit a friend, to work or to live. It doesn't matter whether you have relatives in Australia or Australian ancestors. You will still need a visa.

Types Of Visa

Some visas are temporary, some are permanent. Some visas only allow people to work, or study in Australia, while others allow people to reunite with family members, or conduct business activities. Each visa type has a different set of requirements. These are often called Visa Criteria. Anyone applying for a visa must be able to satisfy those visa criteria before he or she will be granted a visa. Some of the most common Australians visas are:

Visitor (Tourist) Visas Visitor visas are available to people who want to visit either country to have a holiday, to visit friends or relatives, or to study for up to three months. There are also special types of tourist visas that allow business people to visit for different business purposes, such as business meetings. Australian tourist visas are normally valid for 12 months but for a stay of no more than three months at a time. Tourist visas do not allow visa holders to undertake any work.

Working Holiday Visas These are visas for young people from certain countries, including the UK, who want to spend a longer period of time travelling around Australia but also to be able to work in order to be able to make some cash to supplement their travels. Working holiday makers may also study for up to four months. These visas are normally available for 12 months with a further 12 month extension available in some cases.

Family Visas These visas are people for people who have Australian (and in some cases New Zealand) family relatives. Family visas include visas for partners, parents and children of Australian citizens or residents and NZ citizens or residents; or for people whose only remaining relatives are in Australia. The aim of these visas is to allow Australians and Australian residents to be able to live in Australia with their family members.

Student Visas These visas allow overseas students to travel to Australia to undertake study. Student visas are normally granted for the duration of the course and to remain in Australia for as long as it takes to complete their studies, attend graduate ceremonies and to apply for further visas. Student visa holders are permitted to work for up to 20 hours a week during the semester and without restriction during the holidays.

Visas With Work Rights There are a number of different visas that allow people to work in Australia. Some will require you to have a job offer from an Australian employer before the visa to be granted while others provide opportunities for people with previous experience running a business to do the same in Australia. For most people, the most common choice is the skilled visa stream.

Skilled Visas are based on a system where points are awarded for a variety of factors such as age, English language skills, the individual's level of qualifications, work experience and whether or not they have any family members in Australia. Only those individuals who are able to score the required level of points (65 points) may be granted a skilled visa. Australia has many different visa types, tailored to suit different requirements.

For more information on what sort of visa you might need, websites like sortoutmyvisa.com and Migration Agents Registration Authority might be useful.

How Long Visas Are Valid For

Visas are granted for different periods of time:

Permanent Visas are just that; permanent.

Temporary Visas can be granted for various set periods of time. For example, a student visa will be granted for about the length of time it will take the visa applicant to complete his or her proposed studies.

Provisional Visas are granted for a set period of time during which visa holders can satisfy subsequent permanent visa criteria. For example, a fiance visa is granted to the fiance/fiancee of an Australian citizen or permanent resident for a period of nine months so that the couple may marry and then apply for a married spouse visa.

Who Is Most Likely To Get A Visa?

Australia continually reviews its visa programme to ensure that it attracts what it regards as the most desirable individuals. This has a huge impact on particularly the skilled visa programme, where visas are granted according to an individual's points score and where processing times are directly related to an individual's particular set of skills. The most desirable visa applicants are currently those who have skills and qualifications that are in demand in Australia or those who have business skills or financial resources that can contribute to the growth and strength of the Australian economy.

In 2011, the Department of Immigration released a Critical Skills List. This lists occupations which are considered to be critical to Australia. For example, medical professions, engineering professions and IT professions. Other desirable individuals are those with excellent English language skills, formal qualifications and those who are willing to live in a regional part of Australia rather than the main cities.

For the current list of Australian jobs in high demand, as well as further information and advice, go to the Australian Department of Immigration & Citizenship website.

Health and Character Criteria

Australia operates a very strict visa regime and carefully screens all visa applicants to ensure that they are of good character and good health. For example, Australia will not allow individuals to enter Australia if they may pose a risk to the Australian community. This means that individuals with a serious criminal history or individuals who have TB will not be allowed to enter Australia.

Costs

The cost of a visa application depends on the visa type and can range from zero to a few hundred and even to thousands of pounds. Other costs may include the cost of obtaining a skills assessment (an essential part of many skilled visa applications), medical checks and police checks. In addition, if you decide to use the services of a migration agent (and we strongly recommend that you only ever use the services of a MARA registered migration agent) he or she will charge a fee for taking care of your visa application.

Which Visa?

Before you apply for a visa it is important that you explore all visa options that may be available to you and ensure that you meet all criteria of the visa you have chosen. You can contact sortoutmyvisa.com if you would like a free assessment of your best visa options.