A new pilot program for online lodgement of subclass 600 visas for Indian business and tourism visitors is in the process of being rolled out through selected travel agents in India, according to a media release from the office of the Minister for Trade and Investment.

The department of immigration itself has made no announcement on the matter but it is expected that the trial will follow that of the one recently rolled out in China. According to Senator Michaelia Cash, the China trial was “limited to low risk cohorts to ensure programme integrity is maintained”.

DIBP currently has agreements to accept applications for certain classes of visa from overseas agents who are not registered with the Migration Agents Registration Authority.It is unfortunate that registered migration agents actually cannot use these online facilities unless they are part of those agreements.

Indian outbound traveler numbers surge

Although India is said to be one of the world’s fastest growing outbound travel markets, the total tourist arrivals from India to Australia rank 10 compared to arrivals from other countries according to a publication by Tourism Australia . New Zealand, China and the UK take the top three spots.

This trial is about changing these statistics and taking advantage of the surge of outbound Indian travellers  by making it easier for Indian visitors to apply for visas to travel to Australia according to the Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb.

“Under the Australian Government’s national tourism strategy, Tourism 2020, India has the potential to contribute between $1.9 and $2.3 billion annually to our tourism industry by 2020. That’s why in the first half of 2015, the Australian Government is rolling out a trial of online visa applications to capitalise on this rapidly growing visitor market and create jobs,” Mr Robb said.

Mr Robb is leading Australia’s largest ever trade mission to India for Australia Business Week in India from 9-16 January.

“The trade mission and this visa trial are putting runs on the board under the Australia-India Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism I signed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Australia in November last year,” Mr Robb said.

Under the MOU, Australia and India will work together to encourage cooperation and information sharing on tourism policy, and encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders in Australia and India.

Overall tourist arrivals to Australia increased by 8.2 per cent last year to 6.8 million visitors. Australia is an attractive and popular destination for Indian visitors. For the year ending September 2014, Indian visitors to Australia reached 189,866, an increase of 14.5 per cent on the previous year. Indian tourists contributed almost $800 million to the Australian economy. Tourism Research Australia forecasts arrivals from India to Australia will reach almost 300,000 by 2022-23.

Top Ten Visitor Arrivals to Australia by country of residence

 Source: ABS Year-ending September 2014.