Tourism and visa arrangements

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Created on Tuesday, 13 November 2012 16:00

Written by Editorial staff

Speaking at the Bali Democracy Forum, Julia Gillard has promoted Australia as a tourist destination, saying that it's particularly important that through policy, the industry can flourish.

She said that with e-visa arrangements, technology is aiding the ease with which countries deal with immigration matters. A Tourism Australia survey found that China viewed us as a highly sought after destination, simply because of the simple processing arrangements.

Gillard said that tourism is vital but first government has to make sure that they aren't sacrificing proper protocols such as security.

"We have got to get with our countries in our region and around the world visa arrangements right.

"It’s about balancing ease of access, because of course we want tourists to come to our beautiful nation, against security concerns and other concerns that need to be weighed into the system," she said.

It comes as it's been announced that Australia is in talks with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Poland and the Slovak Republic to work out new reciprocal work and holiday visa arrangements.

Immigration and citizenship minister Chris Bowen said that these bilateral immigration visas will be of great benefit to Australia and other participating nations.

"The start of discussions for these new work and holiday arrangements recognises the value of Australia's evolving bilateral relationships with these countries and will strengthen our cultural and people-to-people links," he said.

Participants will benefit from these visas, with successful applicants being entitled to stay in a participating country for 12 months and work and study for a portion of that time. However, applicants must be between 18 and 30 years of age and there is a cap on these visas so not everyone interested will be able to participate.

A working holiday visa is different from a work and holiday visa as the latter requires that the applicant has completed a higher education course or be in the middle of one, and that they speak an acceptable level of English.

"Negotiating work and holiday arrangements, which must be reciprocal and agreeable to both partner governments, can take some time to finalise and implement. We must ensure all key stakeholders are consulted and necessary administrative processes are in place," Mr Bowen said.

Other nations where Australia has a binding reciprocal relationship include Bangladesh,
Argentina, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, the United States of America and Turkey.