Members of the Greek Australian community were concerned last week with the visa selected by the Australian government for a reciprocal arrangement with Greece, however, the Federal Government told Neos Kosmos that this is the only visa program Australia is engaging in following a major review in 2010.
The work and holiday visa program was selected for Greece because that is the only visa program that Australia engages in “to better manage the size and scope of a rapidly growing program”, a representative of the Department of Immigration told Neos Kosmos.
Last week, the Federal Government announced that it will begin dialogue with Greece over a work and holiday visa, but members of the community questioned whether or not they should speak about a working holiday visa instead – a visa which has less restrictions than the one being discussed.
However, the government confirmed that this program is the only one available and was not selected specifically for Greece.
“Greece is the most recent country added to Australia’s negotiation schedule, and represents a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the rich cultural links between our two countries,” the government representative said.
“Work and holiday visa arrangements require that participants from both partner countries have functional language proficiency, tertiary qualifications and a letter of home government support. The purpose of the program is primarily for a holiday with work intended to be incidental/short term. Work and holiday visa holders may apply for other visas while in Australia, subject to eligibility, in order to pursue further study, tourist or skilled work options.
As it stands, Australia has nine work and holiday visa arrangements in place and is still negotiating with other countries from Europe, Latin America and Asia.
The Department of Immigration confirmed that they have had a number of discussions with Greek community leaders and Greek government officials recently and “all have demonstrated strong support for a reciprocal capped work and holiday visa arrangement.”