TEMPORARY VISAS

We are ready to help you to get a temporary visa you need and to lodge an application for extensions of your current visa, change of your current visa class or conditions in your visa, and change of status if the immigration law provides you with such opportunity.

Tourists are people who come to Australia to travel, sightsee, and undertake leisure activities and/or visit friends or relatives. Tourist/Visitor visas usually allow multiple travel to Australia and will entitle the holder to stay up to three months or six months. In some circumstances it is possible for a person to apply for longer stay.

Applicants may face problems to get this type of visa if they are not able to satisfy the Department of Immigration requirements such as:

• intend to come to or remain in Australia either to visit an Australian citizen or permanent resident who is their friend /relative or as a tourist ;
• not coming for business purposes or medical treatment;
• be a genuine visitor;
• have adequate funds for support;
• meet health, character, public interest and special return requirements.

Also applicants for visitor visas may be refused if they fit the risk factor profile which forms taking into consideration previous immigration history of the applicant, and likelihood of his/her overstay, his/her age, marital status, sex, occupation, nationality, and the place of lodgement of the application.

There are several types of temporary visas for business people who want to explore business opportunities in Australia or to establish a business, which may be of benefit to Australia. Business people can apply for Short-term stay visa (subclass 600) or Long-term stay visa (subclass 457) depending on purposes of visit and period of stay.

If you need to visit Australia to conduct business - a negotiation, conference, presentation or an exploratory business visit, then you need to apply for a Short Stay Business Visa. This visa can be granted to the bona fide businessperson for single or multiple visits and will usually have a maximum stay of three months on each arrival. The duration and number of your visits can vary depending on visa conditions but usually these visas are valid for 12 months from the date of grant.

To be successful, the applicant should demonstrate that he/she has:

• a genuine intention and need to come to Australia temporarily for business purposes;
• personal qualities and a business background related to their stay in Australia;
• adequate funds to support themselves while in Australia;

Applicant must also meet health, character, public interest and special return requirements as well as be able to demonstrate that he/she has no purpose to overstay or to be engaged in activities restricted by the visa conditions.

Skilled people can be granted temporary visas to work in Australia in pre-arranged jobs. They must usually be sponsored by an Australian employer. In a few cases, overseas employers may send someone to work in Australia. There are more than 18 subclasses of visas for different categories of workers about which you can obtain more information by visiting the site of DIBP.

One of the most popular kind of temporary worker's visas is Long-term stay visa for sponsored employees (subclass 457), which provides for long-term entry up to four years for people with employment in Australia. There are three categories of workers who can apply for this visa:

• Sponsored by Australian Business - when companies operating in Australia wish to sponsor key overseas personnel;
• Sponsored by Overseas Business - when overseas business with no formal company structure in Australia requires their representative/s to conduct activities on their behalf;
• Labour Agreement - when certain areas of the labour market are in shortage and that have been identified by the government to allow Australian employers to recruit such personnel on a temporary or permanent basis.

To be granted this visa, the employing business must be approved as a business sponsor (called the sponsorship), the appointment must be approved as one being suitable for an overseas worker (called the nomination) and finally the visa application must be approved. The visa application can be lodged through the Internet Skill Select system.

Overseas citizens have a rich choice of study programs, which allow them to obtain, continue or finish their education in Australia. Overseas students are only entitled to enter Australia to study a course, which is administered by an education provider registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). For more information visit Registered courses include a wide range of full-fee award and non-award courses offered by primary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions.

Students must be accepted for enrolment in full-time study offered by the registered institution and also be granted a student visa by the Department of Immigration.

The process for issue of a student visa depends on Assessment Levels and Assessment Factors of your country of citizenship determined by the passport you hold and the education sector of your principal course of study.

Currently there are seven principal courses of study for overseas students:

• English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS) - subclass 570;
• Schools - subclass 571;
• Vocational Education and Training - subclass 572;
• Higher Education - subclass 573;
• Masters and Doctorate - subclass 574;
• Non-award Foundation - subclass 575;
• AusAID or Defence - subclass 576.

You may apply for a package course comprising a preliminary enabling course, e.g. a pre-requisite English language tuition, foundation or bridging course followed by your principal course.

To be granted a student visa, you must provide evidence that satisfies the assessment factors applicable to you depending on your assessment level. The assessment factors include your financial capacity, English proficiency, likely compliance with the conditions of your visa and any other matters considered relevant to assessing your application.

You must also satisfy the general requirements such as being of good character and sound health, and have acceptable health insurance.

Extensions of visas may be granted to eligible person who wants to extend their stay in Australia beyond the expiry date of their current visa and so applies for a further visa of the same type.

It is impossible to hold two substantive visas at the same time. In certain circumstances immigration law allows to holder of substantive visa to apply for another class/subclass of substantive visa or change some conditions, which were included in his/her current visa. In order to be considered an application for a visa must be a valid application.

People who want to live in Australia permanently are usually expected to apply to migrate from their country of origin. However Migration law allows some people to "change their status" and become permanent residents after they have entered Australia on a substantive temporary visa.

In order to change status, applicant must:

• meet all criteria for a visa that can be applied for while they are in Australia;
• usually hold a substantive visa;
• be in Australia but not in immigration clearance, except for protection visa applicants;
• do not have condition 8503 (no further stay) in their current visa.