Visa applications minimal after Athens skills expo

The number of visa applications from Greek nationals wishing to migrate to Australia has been little affected by the Athens Skills Australia Needs session held in October 2011, according to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

Though DIAC does not correlate data to determine who has applied for visas as a result of attending information sessions such as the Athens event, the signs are that there has been very little discernible increase in Greek nationals formerly applying to migrate down under over the past three months.

A DIAC spokesperson told Neos Kosmos that whilst the department's survey conducted with attendees and employers after the Athens session was positive, there is little evidence to show any direct and significant increase in visa applications.

"There also can be very long lead times on these outcomes," said the DIAC representative, "as people weigh up the very big considerations involved in moving to another country to work."

Mr Sandi Logan, DIAC's National Communications Manager, said that the Athens session, "provided an opportunity for skilled workers to hear about migration options and requirements as well as employment opportunities," but that the Athens event, like others "did not seek specifically to influence the views of attendees to migrate."

Mr Logan added that on the available feedback, "only a small number of registered nurses are currently completing pre-visa requirements for employer-sponsored skilled migration to Australia. None have yet been granted a visa."

DIAC has said that following the Athens event, most attendees were contacted directly by an unnamed government representative, inviting them to contact the state to pursue options for employment sponsorship to address skills shortages. Mr Logan says DIAC was made aware that this invitation has so far received "a very poor response."

In the year ending June 2011, 138 settler arrivals from Greece came to Australia. Settler arrivals are calculated from passenger cards and other data relating to overseas arrivals, where a person has indicated an intention or legal entitlement to permanently settle in Australia. This figure includes skilled migrants and family reunions.

Settler arrivals are not the only measure of people who actually added to Australia's population through migration. For a complete picture, consideration needs also to be given to those who change their intentions or legal entitlement from temporary residency to a permanent stay.

In the same period, 8,824 Greek citizens arrived in the country on short or long-term temporary visas.