Temporary Residence in Australia

 Australia’s temporary residence program is designed to allow overseas people to come to Australia for specific purposes that benefit Australia. The program consists of three categories:

• skilled
• social and cultural
• international relations.

Temporary residents are required to pay taxes on income earned in Australia. They do not have access to social welfare benefits or national public health cover.

Applicants must be assessed to satisfy Australia’s strict health and character requirements.
Please refer to my submission to our blog site just recently.

Citizens of countries where Australia has reciprocal health care agreements (RHCA) are entitled to emergency medical cover in Australia. This cover does not extend to pre-existing medical conditions. RHCA countries include Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Travellers should check if they need to maintain private health insurance. Citizens from The Republic of Ireland can obtain health care also by just producing their Passport at any Hospital, Doctor, and Pharmacist.

Skilled visa classes

Business Entry visas allow employers to recruit skilled people from overseas for a stay of up to four years. The position being filled must be skilled and paid at the local market rate. More details are available on these visas by contacting the writer.

Social and cultural

Temporary residence visas are also available for people taking part in sporting, entertainment and cultural activities.

Entertainment visas are for people involved in a wide range of social and cultural events and activities, taking into account the need to protect the employment of Australians in the industry.

Investor Retirement visas are for self-funded retirees who are 55 years or older, have no dependants (other than a partner) and are able to make a significant long term financial investment in Australia. The visa is temporary and will not lead to Australian permanent residence or citizenship.

Media and Film Staff visas are for correspondents or other professional media staff members posted to Australia by overseas news organisations. Also for visiting photographers, film and television crews making documentaries or commercials for overseas use.

Religious Worker visas are for religious workers, including ministers, priests and spiritual leaders, to serve the spiritual needs of people of their faiths in Australia.

Retirement visas are now only available to current Retirement visa holders and their partners, and to certain former holders of this visa who have not held another substantive visa since their last Retirement visa ceased. New or first time applicants considering spending a period of their retirement in Australia should consider the Investor Retirement (subclass 405) visa.

Special Program visas are for people coming to Australia under approved programs to participate in youth exchange, community benefit or cultural enrichment programs, or the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme.

Sport visas are for amateur or professional sports people to engage in competition with Australian residents and to improve general sporting standards in Australia through high calibre competition and training.

Visiting Academic visas are for professional academics to observe and/or participate collaboratively in Australian research projects and contribute to the sharing of research knowledge in Australia.

International relations

Working Holiday visa allows young people from certain arrangement countries to experience Australian culture and lifestyle through an extended holiday and short term employment, with special focus on regional Australia.

The program is an integral part of Australia’s tourism industry and also supports the Australian economy by providing supplementary labour for industries requiring short-term casual workers.

Work and Holiday visa is similar to the Working Holiday program, except that the Work and Holiday visa program requires additional documentation from arrangement countries. Applicants may need to provide a letter of approval from their government agreeing to their stay in Australia, hold university education qualifications and have functional English.
Note: These extra provisions do not apply to applicants from the United States of America.

To see if your Nationality qualifies you to be able to apply for either the Working Holiday Visa or the Work & Holiday visa, please click on the link.

Diplomatic visas allow for temporary entry of people wanting to travel to Australia in a diplomatic or official capacity, on advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Eligible people should apply for this visa regardless of their intended period of stay in Australia.

Domestic Worker (Diplomatic/Consular) visas are for domestic staff working in a private capacity in households of diplomatic and consular staff posted to Australia, on advice from DFAT.

Domestic Worker (Overseas Executive) visas are for domestic staff of certain Temporary Business (Long Stay) (subclass 457) visa holders. This visa may only be granted where it is shown that the entry of domestic staff is necessary for the proper discharge of an executive’s representational duties.

Exchange visas are for skilled people overseas wanting to broaden their work experience and skills under reciprocal arrangements which allow Australian residents similar opportunities overseas. This includes people seeking entry under certain bilateral exchange agreements.

Foreign Government Agency visas are for foreign government employees conducting business or teaching duties on behalf of their governments, who do not have diplomatic or official status in Australia.

Government Agreement visas are for people who have the support of an Australian Government agency and a foreign government to enter Australia under the terms of a bilateral agreement between them. It can also be used by people who will direct the national operations in Australia of the British Council, the Alliance Francaise, the Goethe-Institute or the Italian Cultural Institute.

Occupational Trainee visas allow people from overseas to complete structured and supervised workplace-based training programs or academic research that will provide additional or enhanced skills and knowledge in their present occupations, tertiary studies or fields of expertise.
See: Fact Sheet 52a Occupational Trainee visa

Professional Development visas allow for the temporary entry of groups of professionals, managers and government officials from overseas who are seeking to enhance their professional/managerial skills by taking part in tailored training programs with an Australian sponsoring organisation.
See: Fact Sheet 51 Professional Development Visa

Access to retirement savings

Eligible temporary residents are able to access their retirement savings (superannuation) upon permanent departure from Australia.

More information on accessing this money is available on the Australian Taxation Office’s website (temporary residents).
See: Australian Taxation Office
See also: Accessing Superannuation Benefits

Statistics

Temporary resident visa grants
	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10
Skilled visa classes	112 678	117 247	92 231
Social/cultural stream	28 930	25 375	23 166
International relations stream	167 648	203 602	190 633
Total	309 256	346 224	306 030

 

Should the reader wish to know more about this article or if you have a more specific question, please contact the writer either via email or by completing the FREE VISA  ASSESSMENT on the home page

Health Requirement

This is information which is available on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship web site, but the writer believes this article may assist those looking to come to Australia, a better understanding of Australia’s quite strict Health policy.

Australia enjoys some of the best health standards in the world. In order to maintain these standards people who want to migrate permanently, or stay in Australia temporarily, must satisfy the health requirement specified in the Migration Regulations.

Background

The health requirement is designed to:

• minimise public health and safety risks to the Australian community
• contain public expenditure on health and community services, including Australian social security benefits, allowances and pensions
• maintain access of Australian residents to health and other community services.

In line with Australia’s global non-discriminatory immigration policy, the health requirement applies equally to all applicants from all countries, although the extent of testing will vary according to the circumstances of each applicant.

Health checks required

Permanent visa applicants

All applicants for permanent visas, including the main applicant, partner and any dependants, must be assessed against the health requirement. Even if the applicant’s partner and dependants are not included in the visa application, they must still be assessed against the health requirement.

Applicants for a permanent visa will be asked to undergo a medical examination, an x-ray if 11 years of age or older and an HIV/AIDS test if 15 years of age or older, as well as any additional tests requested by the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC).

Temporary visa applicants

Applicants for temporary visas may be required to undergo a medical examination, chest x-ray and/or other tests depending on how long they propose to stay in Australia, their intended activities in Australia, their country’s risk level for tuberculosis (TB) and other factors.

The department will provide applicants with details of the health checks required.

The decision process

For those applicants who require a medical and/or x-ray examination and a significant medical condition is identified, a MOC will provide the department with an opinion on whether the health requirement has been met.

In doing so they will take into account:

• the results of the medical examination(s) and x-ray(s)
• medical history, age and period of intended stay in Australia
• other relevant considerations.

Under the Migration Regulations officers deciding visa applications must accept the opinion of the MOC on whether applicants meet the health requirement.

Only TB is mentioned in migration legislation as precluding the grant of a visa, but the applicant is given the opportunity to undergo treatment in most cases. Other health conditions are assessed on the potential cost and impact on the Australian community resulting from the possible use of health and community services.

Some of the visa subclasses within the family and humanitarian migration schemes, as well as a limited number of onshore permanent skilled visas, have a waiver component. This allows the visa decision-maker to waive the health requirement if they are satisfied that granting a visa would not result in ‘undue’ health care or community services costs, or ‘undue’ prejudice to Australians’ access to such services. Where a waiver is available, the decision-maker will take into account the applicant’s personal circumstances, including their ability to mitigate potential costs and care requirements, and any compassionate and compelling circumstances.

The waiver cannot be exercised where the visa applicant is assessed by a MOC as representing a risk to public health or safety in Australia.

If the applicant does not meet the health requirement and the waiver is unavailable or not exercised, then under the Migration Regulations the application must be refused.

Specific diseases or tests

Tuberculosis (TB)

TB is a serious disease which has been declared an epidemic and a global emergency.

Visa applicants aged 11 years or older must undergo a chest x-ray. Those under 11 may be required to have an x-ray if there are indications they have TB or have a history of contact with a person with TB. The purpose of the x-ray is to determine whether there is any evidence of either active or previous TB.

Evidence of active or previous TB will not, in itself, adversely impact on the outcome of the visa application.

Where x-rays show possible evidence of TB, the applicant will be asked to undergo more specific tests to establish whether or not active TB is present.

If active TB is found, Australian migration law does not allow a visa to be granted until the person has undergone treatment and been declared free of active TB. A course of treatment usually lasting between six to nine months is required, plus further testing to show that the treatment has been successful.

If the x-ray shows evidence of previous but now inactive TB the applicant may be asked to sign an undertaking at the time of visa grant.

By signing the undertaking, the applicant agrees to contact the Health Undertaking Service on a free call number on arrival in Australia. The applicant also agrees to report for follow-up monitoring to a state or territory health authority, as directed by the Health Undertaking Service. The visa is not at risk, once in Australia, no matter what status of tuberculosis is diagnosed as a result of the monitoring.

Hepatitis

Although health authorities consider the risk of hepatitis transmission from newly arrived migrants to be low, screening for hepatitis is mandatory where the applicant is any of the following:

• pregnant
• a child for adoption
• an unaccompanied refugee minor child
• a temporary visa applicant intending to work as, or to study to be, a doctor, nurse, dentist or paramedic in Australia.

Examining doctors or MOCs may also ask any applicant to undergo tests for hepatitis where they consider it necessary. If the applicant is assessed as having hepatitis a decision on whether the applicant meets the health requirement will be made on the same grounds as any other pre-existing medical condition. The main factor to be taken into account is the cost of the condition to the Australian community of health care and community services.

The applicant may also be asked to give an undertaking to report to the Health Undertaking Service for referral to state or territory health authorities on arrival in Australia.

HIV/AIDS

Permanent visa applicants aged 15 years or older must take an HIV/AIDS test. Permanent applicants less than 15 years old must also take this test if being adopted or there is a history of blood transfusions or other clinical indications.

Temporary visa applicants who intend to work as, or study to become, a doctor, nurse, dentist or paramedic in Australia are required to take an HIV/AIDS test.

If the applicant is found to be HIV positive, a decision on whether the applicant meets the health requirement will be made on the same grounds as any other pre-existing medical condition. The main factor to be taken into account is the cost of the condition to the Australian community of health care and community services. Standard pre and post-test counselling must be provided by the doctor who examined the applicant.

Other tests

Any other tests may be requested at any time by a MOC.

Should the reader have any further questions regarding this article or a more specific enquiry, the reader is encouraged to contact Emigrate Australia either by completing the FREE VISA ASSESSMENT on the home page or by email.