Australia to change visa rules
15 April 2016 by News DeskThe government plans to change visa rules to encourage more Chinese visitors and students to come to Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the changes to visa rules during a trade visit to China this week.
Visa rules will be changed, making it easier for Chinese tourists to visit and study in Australia. Changes include having visa applications written in Chinese and a new online visa application process for Chinese visitors. The existing eight student visa categories will be reduced to two.
The biggest change is for a new visa that lasts for ten years.
Speaking in Shanghai, China, Prime Minister Turnbull said the changes to Australian visa rules showed the governments’ commitment to strengthen ties between the two countries.
In the past 12 months over one million Chinese visitors came to Australia, ten times more than fifteen years ago. And they boosted the Aussie economy by more than $7.7 billion.
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Australia and employs over 500,000 people.
The government predicts the industry will boost the economy by a total of $113 billion this year with foreign visitors accounting for 30 per cent of this figure.
In ten years’ time, spending by Chinese visitors is forecast to have doubled to $13.7 billion.
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