People who want to immigrate to Australia from Hong Kong need to complete certain immigration procedures. For short-term stays, residents of Hong Kong can apply for the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), which refers to an electronic visa that can be issued following a simpler route compared to a traditional visa.
ETA can be obtained only for specific purposes of stay and if Hong Kong residents plan to arrive here for other reasons than the ones for which this visa is issued, they need to apply for other documents. Our Australia migration lawyer can advise on other visa options for short-term stays.
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What are the conditions that must be respected by ETA applicants?
According to the Department of Home Affairs, foreigners can apply for ETA only if they plan to take a vacation in Australia, to visit their friends and/or family or to arrive here as business visitors. This visa also allows the possibility of studying or participating in training for a limited period of time. Some of its traits are:
- the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) is known as the Subclass 601 visa;
- according to the law on immigration to Australia, the document grants the right to stay here for a period of up to 90 days at a time;
- the document is valid for a period of 12 months;
- for its issuance, applicants must pay AUD 20 (the standard processing fee for this visa);
- ETA is available for the nationals of 33 countries.
Employment visas for Hong Kong nationals
While one can immigrate to Australia from Hong Kong by applying for a variety of visas, it must be noted that Australia has employment visas specifically created for Hong Kong residents. The documents are available for those who move to Australia from Hong Kong for skilled work.
For this purpose, Hong Kong residents can apply for the Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189) – Hong Kong stream. We mention that the document provides the right to permanent residency in Australia. If other eligibility criteria are met, this visa can open the pathway to Australian citizenship to those who want to acquire it.
Please know that this visa can’t be used as the first visa for immigration in Australia, as this document is available only for persons who have already been issued with qualifying visas prior to applying for this one. Our immigration lawyer in Australia has gathered in the list below some of the requirements of this visa:
- the document is addressed to those who have been residents in this country for at least 4 years before the application;
- the visa can be obtained by those who opted to move to Australia from Hong Kong under the Subclass 457, 482 or 485 visas;
- the subclass 189 visa is a permanent visa but it has a travel component with a validity of 5 years since the issuance of the document (it grants the right to freely move to and from Australia);
- it is necessary to pay a processing fee (AUD 4,765 – charged to the main applicant);
- provided that the main applicant includes other family members on the application, separate fees may be charged for persons who are 18 years old or older.
A similar visa to the one presented above is the Subclass 191 – the Hong Kong (regional) stream. This visa can be issued to qualifying persons who have worked or studied in specific regional areas of Australia. It can be granted solely to those who opted to relocate to Australia from Hong Kong under temporary visas for study or skilled work.
The document is available for those who have been living in the respective regions for at least 3 years at the moment of the application. Please know that these 2 types of visas can be issued when a person is in Australia or outside the country.
We invite those who want to migrate to Australia to address our team. We can help clients relocate to Australia from Hong Kong by applying for the visas mentioned above, but we can also assist in immigration matters related to family reunification or investment.
