Department of Immigration Australia (Diac)

Department of Immigration Australia is the whole-sole authority behind taking appropriate decisions concerning visa and immigration applications to immigrate to Australia.

Australia has emerged as a powerful nation in terms of economic, social, educational, cultural and international province. Hence, people find moving Australia as an opportunity to live, work and play on the basis of appropriate visa and immigration option. Visa and Immigration to stay, work, study and migrate to Australia has opened the doors for the individuals to enter into Australia, but at the same time, the concerns related to illegal migration or entry of unlawful candidates scared the Australian Government. Hence, the concept of legal procedures for migration has evolved to control and restrict the unlawful entry to the country.

Department of Immigration Australia aims to maintain the dignity, ethics and culture of the country by restricting the ineligible or illegal entries to Australia.
Australian Government welcomes immigrants from all over the world; though, its migration laws and procedures are quite complex, still it ensures the successful immigration of the deserving candidates for their demanded purpose and terms. To meet their diverse demands for immigration and to manage the effective migration system, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship has created several different visa categories and sub-categories for the individuals seeking permanent or temporary migration to Australia. They are free to select the preferred option as per their requirements and need to migrate to Australia.

Australian Skilled Migration, Australian Business Migration, Australian Family Migration, Australian Working Holiday Visas, Australian Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), OE Visas Australian DIY Emigration Package and Australian Student Visas are some of the visa options facilitated by Department of Immigration Australia.

Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship has certain set of norms and standards for all categories or sub-categories of visa options and if applications of the individuals seeking Australian Visa and Immigration fail to comply with those standards, it gets rejected. Hence, proper and effective fulfillment of all requirements is highly essential for all the applicants for any form of visa application.

Department of Immigration Australia also accepts the request of applicants for permanent residency in Australia if they satisfactorily and lawfully accomplish their temporary term for the visa they have already acquired. Becoming an Australian Citizen represents the commitment of the individuals towards the country and its citizens. This gives a feeling of belongingness to the individuals seeking Australian citizenship towards all aspects of the Australian culture, lifestyle and environment.

On the other hand, if someone after getting a visa or immigration to Australia fails to follow the residency procedures and norms being an immigrant to the country, their visa and immigration can then also get cancelled and they may also need to leave the country sooner as per the order of the government. However, Australian Government decides upon the exact and necessary step to be taken in this regard.
Hence, Department of Immigration Australia plays a significant role in managing and controlling the Immigration and Visa measures in the country.

8 Facts about Australia day

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia, celebrated annually on 26 January.

Here are some facts for you:

1. Australia Day celebrates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney cove in 1788 when the land was claimed for Great Britain under the rule of King George III.
2. formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip’s governorship was read out, even though the holiday is celebrated on January 26.
3. The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. All of the Australian states and territories didn’t start using that name until 1935, and it wasn’t until 1994 that they began to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on January 26.
4. The first official Australia Day celebration was in 1818 when the governor organized celebrations that included a 30 gun salute and a dinner at Government House followed by a ball.
5. New South Wales was the first state to declare Australia Day as a public holiday in 1838, the fiftieth anniversary of the landing at Sydney Cove, but it was called “Anniversary Day” until the mid 1940’s.
6. Great Britain didn’t stop sending convicts to Australia until the 1860s and the reason was the rising costs of keeping the system going.
7. The HMS Supply was the first ship of the First Fleet to land in Botany Bay. It was both the oldest and smallest of ships in the fleet, built in 1759 an armed trader.
8. The approximate number of convicts sent to Australia was 160,500, of whom 24,700 were women!

Visa Types

The Australian Government has very strict legislation in place to determine who can be granted a visa and what criteria they must meet.

Below are some of the main types of visa you can apply for to travel / work / emigrate to Australia, however the rules and restrictions can and do change as needs of the country change. Please find a link to the department for immigration and citizenship on the right.

Skilled Migration

For General Skilled Migration there are other determining factors, such as skill, age, English language ability, employment experience, qualifications. If you do have a close relative in Australia who is willing to sponsor you, it may increase your total points score but it will not make you eligible for a visa if you cannot meet the other criteria. The age band for this visa category is 18 to 44 years. Once you turn 45 you cannot apply for General Skilled Migration regardless of whether you have relatives in Australia or are able to meet any of the other criteria.

It is also necessary to reach a specific points total to have any realistic chance of succeeding with a visa application. Points are awarded for some of the determining factors mentioned above but there are also other ways to add points to your total, such as Spouse Skills, English Language Testing, having an occupation in demand or job offer. In some instances it is possible to be sponsored by a particular State or Territory, instead of a close relative, but this would generally be linked to specific skill shortages in that State or Territory.

Spouse/Partner/Fiance Visas

You could apply for a Spouse/Partner/Fiancé visa if you are married to, engaged to or living in a defacto relationship with an Australian Citizen or permanent resident partner. You would have to prove that your relationship is genuine and on-going, be sponsored by your partner and meet the health and character requirements.

A defacto relationship means having lived together as a couple for at least 12 months prior to lodging the visa application.

Parent Visas

If you have a child who has lived permanently in Australia for at 18 months – 2 years, you could apply for a Parent visa. If you and your spouse/partner have more than one child then you must meet the Balance of Family test. This test means that at least half your children must be permanently resident in Australia OR you must have more children permanently in Australia than in any other single country.

You must be sponsored by your son or daughter in Australia, meet the health and character requirements, have a financial assurer and pay both a bond and a health charge.

WORKING HOLIDAY VISAS

If you are aged 18 to 30 and like the idea of travelling around Australia for up to a year, with the opportunity to work to supplement your travel funds, you can apply for a Working Holiday visa.

To be eligible, you must meet all of the following: –

·     be aged 18 to 30 inclusive

·     hold a passport from the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland.

·     have no dependent children

·     have sufficient funds for a return ticket and for the initial stage of your stay (at least A$5000)

You are allowed to do any kind of work in Australia for up to 6 months maximum with any one employer. You are allowed to study or train for up to a total of 4 months.

The visa costs £110/€150 per person and will take on average 48 hours to obtain.

 

The start of our journey

Well i thought it would help any people that are on a similar time-line to us to post the basics here, so here goes:

September 2007

We decided we wanted to try for a new and exciting life in Oz, after having been married a few months we realised although we love England, it is changing rapidly. Don’t get me wrong both of us love our roots, heritage, family and friends but this green and pleasant land is looking less and less green and definitely less pleasant as time passes.

Sometime in life it come down to choices if you are lucky enough to have them. For our future family’s sake and our future well being we decided we do not want a family over here. There are simply more opportunities if you are willing to work hard for a more fulfilled life and most importantly a happier life in the otherside of the world.

I know like Fievel that the grass is not always greener, and the streets are not paved with gold. However Australia is still a land of opportunity if you are willing to make the necessary sacrifices, start again. Work bloody hard yes, but play bloody hard too. All in all the chance for a better family way of life and living for us and our family is one worth grasping with both hands and hanging on!

So after months of deep research and trying the solo route of trying to find sponsored work we were talked into (wasn’t hard) taking a holiday in the height of January 2008 (summer over there)  to Oz to search for opportunities….

To new beginnings…