Migration visa statistics available for first quarter 2012

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Created on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 18:15

Written by Editorial staff

The figures are in on the migration visa statistics for the first quarter of 2012 - compiled with care by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

In an interesting turn of events, it appears that the number of tourism-related visas have fallen slightly when compared to the same time last year.

While seasonal variations can have a substantial impact on the hospitality industry as a whole, this small drop of around 14,000 seems to have less to do with the time of year and more in relation to the global economic climate.

Backing this theory is the fact that the number of lodgements from Chinese citizens in this category grew measurably by 25 per cent during this time period.

A three per cent increase in the number of business-related immigration visas could mean good news for certain sectors, with an additional 10,000 or so applicants taking the total above 358,000.

The DIAC notes that this was "partially attributed" to the swell in applications from US residents, with over 52,000 lodgements recorded in the three months from January 1 2012.

It could be that some of these individuals have heard of the opportunities available in Australia in relation to mining and resource projects.

These ongoing developments have received a lot of public attention in recent months - particularly in relation to the growing need for skilled workers.

In response the DIAC recently held a number of exhibits overseas - including the US - with attendees invited on the basis of previous experience and willingness to live and work overseas for an extended period of time.

While a large number of visa applications are lodged with the department every year - more than 2.8 million between July 1 2011 and March 31 2012 - the processes put in place to control who is able to visit or move to Australia are still quite stringent.

This may be one of the reasons why the grant rates for visas have remained quite stable - with the latest quarter's rate of 97.6 per cent only 0.2 percentage points higher than the same time last year.

While this has obviously had an impact on the processing times of different visa types, the DIAC notes that applications for tourist visas remain relatively low - 75 per cent processed within eight calendar days for offshore submission and 75 per cent within ten days  for onshore lodgements.

According to the department: "Processing times increase if applications are incomplete or if additional information is required, including health examinations and/or character checks."