Australian Permanent Residency Requirement Changes
This year Australian government and border control authorities has announced several changes and new visa regulations. Those changes affect many different groups of immigrants and visitors of Australia. The country is one of the most desired destinations in the world for immigrants and there is a good reason for that. The Australian economy is one of the most stable in the world having no recession for more than 25 years. The local culture is very welcoming to foreigners and supporting them in order to adapt to the live in Australia.
Earlier in September, information about discussions in the Australian government was announced regarding eventual upcoming changes to visa regulations. Those changes could affect the people who want to apply for Permanent Residency. If approved the regulations will require people to reside for certain period in Australia on mandatory provisional visa before applying for Permanent Residency.
The reason for that is the constantly increasing number of people arriving in Australia willing to stay permanently in the country. This leads to a need of selecting the best candidates, which could help the country and local economy to prosper. This is also a way to optimize the government budget for visa programmes.
Earlier this year the Australian Border control introduced changes to the Australian Citizenship requirements. Previously applicants needed to stay on Permanent Residency 1 year prior to applying for Australian Citizenship. After the changes the applicants need to be in Australia on Permanent Residency 4 years before applying for Citizenship. Along with that change there are some other additional requirements like English language test, evidence of integration, employment contract, school enrolment for children and membership in different organizations. All those changes in the visa requirements make the path to citizenship longer but still open for people willing to live and work in Australia permanently.
More information about Australian visas.