"almost all the growth in short-term visas is related to international students," says Citizenship Secretary Tucci. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation Photo)
Data released recently showed that temporary visa holders were up one hundred and six thousand nine hundred and ninety nine a year in the year to June, an increase of 5 percent, while the government`s number of permanent residents fell by 20, 000 over the same period.
As many as one hundred and seventy six thousand people stay in Australia on bridge visas, an increase of nearly 40, 000 a year, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Compared with a year ago, there were 10,000 more Chinese on bridge visas, 7,000 more Indians and 4,000 more Malaysians.
Mr. (Abul Rizvi), a former senior immigration official in the 2000s, said 30, 000 people with bridge visas would have been considered problematic when he was in immigration, and two hundred thousand was a frightening figure. "the purpose of a bridge-crossing visa is to allow someone`s visa to remain legally in Australia for the duration of the trial, and this is and should only be seen as an expedient."
Such a rapid increase in the number of cross-bridge visas would only mean that the Immigration Department could not approve visas quickly, Mr. Lizvi said. Citizen Affairs Minister Tucci (Alan Tudge) declined to respond to the increase in visa holders, saying only that "almost all short-term visa growth has been related to international students since we [the Union] came to power". The vast majority of short-term visa holders are New Zealanders, international students and tourists.
The interior minister, (Peter Dutton), said in July that the coalition had "restored integrity" to immigration policy when it revealed that permanent immigration had fallen by 20, 000 last year.
The increase in the number of cross-bridge visas meant that some migrants could benefit from a longer stay in Australia, "which reflects a decline in integrity [of the immigration system] and lower administrative efficiency," Mr. Lizwey said.
Immigration agency Glanger (Jonathan Granger) described the increase in cross-bridge visas as an "explosion." He believes there are two main factors, one is the increase in the number of appeals because of refusal to sign, and the second is the extension of visa approval time.
In addition to the increasing number of people holding bridge visas, the number of graduate visas that can stay in Australia for at least two years after graduation has also increased considerably, and the number of principal applicants holding the visa has soared from 21,000 to 55,000 over a three-year period. This does not include his spouse or children,. (Enyo).
