Britons rush for australian visas

VisaFirst.com is using Australia Day (January 26) to launch a campaign raising awareness of the changes, urging prospective migrants to act now or risk missing out.

The latest changes, which come into effect on July 1 this year, are set to lengthen the application process and make it harder to obtain permanent residence.

Nearly 24,000 UK citizens were granted permanent resident visas for Australia in 2011, despite a toughening of the “points system” in July of that year. The prospect of further changes has already sparked a rise in applications from would-be emigrants, claims VisaFirst.com, which registered a three-fold increase in applications in January alone.

“Currently, if you meet the points requirement you can lodge your visa application,” said Edwina Shanahan, director of the company. “After July 1, applicants will have to achieve the pass mark and will then be entered into a skills pool. Australian immigration authorities will then decide which applications they want to invite for further processing from the pool. Applicants can languish here for up to two years, with no guarantee of ever receiving an invitation to apply.”

Source: Telegraph.co.uk