According to the ABC, Australia`s visa and naturalization time will be extended as a result of a large number of staff cuts by the Australian Immigration Service.
Mike Pezzullo, head of immigration, said he could not guarantee that the processing time for some visas would not increase because of the decrease in the number of people on visa approval posts. However, just a few weeks ago, the immigration minister just said that to improve the efficiency of visa approval, this voice has not yet dropped, the face of the crackle ah.
In response, the official said that although he also does not want to increase the unnecessary waiting time, but there is no way, the immigration department is under great pressure. Because of the federal government`s strategy of reducing fiscal deficits and debt, all government departments have to find ways to cut spending.
Over the next four years, the Immigration Department will have to try to cut spending by nearly A $1 billion. Where does all this money come from? If the immigration department wants to go, it can only be ruthless and downsizing.
Starting this fiscal year, the Immigration Department alone is responsible for visa and naturalization, has laid off 355 employees. The efficiency of Australian government departments is well understood. When the manpower is sufficient, the efficiency is still not high. Now, when there is a layoff, the efficiency is conceivable.
The official also said that now the fight against terrorism, border security is a top priority, so even if the immigration authorities later have extra funds, do not expect them to spend the money on visa processing.
As to how slow visa and naturalization approvals will be, let`s take a look at the time when the Immigration Board just updated its approval on 17 May:
Tourist visa:
Seventy-five percent of visa applications were completed within 37 days and 90 percent within 2 to 59 days.
Work visa: different visa processing time is also different, the shortest is only 8 days, the longest 17 months.
Student visas: 75% in 4-48 days, 90% in 15-4 months.
Family and spouse visas: 7 months for the shortest and 34 months for the longest.
Other visas:
