The citizens of South Africa can relocate to Australia without any problems, for any of the reasons that are prescribed by the Australian immigration law, as long as they have taken the necessary legal measures, such as obtaining specific visas and residence permits. Below, you can find out more on this subject.
Still, it must be noted that even in the case of a South African who wants to immigrate to Australia from South Africa for a short period of time (meaning for a stay of maximum 90 days), the citizens of this country will need to apply for various visas that can be issued for a specific purpose.
If you need legal counseling on the requirements for immigration to Australia as South Africans, our lawyer is ready to present the wide variety of visas that can be obtained as a national of this country. You can also address to our immigration lawyer in Australia if you need assistance on the procedure of obtaining a residence permit issued on a permanent basis.
A foreigner ca obtain residence in Australia based on various visa streams. One of them is the family stream visas, which can provide the right to permanent residency in certain cases.
If you are a South African citizen and you are the partner, the child, the parent or a relative that is considered a dependent relative of a person who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, then you can apply for this visa stream.
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What are the immigration regulations for short-term stays in Australia?
Short-term stays generally refer to arrivals in Australia for visiting purposes. They can also refer to business purposes, reuniting with close family members or friends, participating in trainings and other reasons that will need only a short-term relocation in this country. Persons who want to relocate to Australia for visiting purposes from South Africa should be aware that they need to obtain a visa.
So, those who want to immigrate to Australia from South Africa even for a short period of time will have to obtain a visa issued for this specific purpose. Please be aware that, as a citizen of South Africa, one isn’t eligible for the Electronic Travel Authority, a type of visitor permit which can be issued online without any complicated procedures.
This is why persons who immigrate to Australia from South Africa must take all the necessary steps in order to obtain a Subclass 600 visa, a type of document that will allow them to visit the country and visit family members and friends.
This visa category generally grants the right to move to Australia from South Africa for a period of 3 or 6 months, but in exceptional situations, one can be issued with this visa for a period of 12 months; you can address to our Australia migration lawyer if you need to find out the basic requirements for qualifying for the latter option.
How can South Africans obtain permanent residency in Australia?
At the moment, there are numerous visa types that can provide the opportunity of becoming a permanent resident of Australia, and they can be related to working here, relocating for family reunification purposes, or for starting a business here or investing in the local economy.
A permanent residency provides numerous rights, but it must not be confused with the rights the Australian citizens have, which are more extensive. The basic distinctions are related to travelling freedoms, voting and governmental services and benefits. Besides these, the rights of the two categories are mostly the same.
A common way to move to Australia for permanent residency purposes is by arriving here for an employment contract. For most of the visas which offer this opportunity, the applicant will have to meet various requirements, but the age criterion is the same in most of the cases (being under 50 years old) and having a good command of the English language.
In each particular case, specific requirements have to be met, which are necessary for the respective visa type. Foreign persons, including South Africans, can attain permanent residency if they have received a job offer in Australia, under the Employer Nomination Scheme. The Skilled Independent Visa also provides this opportunity and you can find out more information on the criteria you have to meet from our Australia migration lawyer.
How many visas were issued for South Africans in Australia?
The data on the number of visas issued to those who immigrate to Australia from South Africa are gathered by the Department of Home Affairs. For a long-term immigration to Australia, South Africans have arrived here through four visa streams, namely the permanent migration program, the skill streams program, the family and child visa stream and the special eligibility visa program. The data for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 show the following trends:
- those who chose to move to Australia from South Africa on the skilled migration program, under the state nominated visa stream, obtained 903 such visas in 2017-2018 and 925 visa in 2018-2019 (increasing from 660 visas in 2015-2016);
- on the business innovation and investment visa stream, South Africans obtained 41 visas in 2017-2018 and 77 visas in 2018-2019;
- visas issued under the employer sponsored stream accounted for 1,346 visas in 2017-2018 and 1,518 visas in 2018-2019;
- a slight increase was observed for those who migrate to Australia for family reunification programs for the parent stream visa (125 visas in 2017-2018 and 137 visas in 2018-2019);
- for the special eligibility visa program, in both years, Australian authorities issued the same number of visas, 12, but they accounted for an increase compared to 2015-2016, when only 7 visas were issued.
What are the regulations for Australian citizenship by descent?
There are several legal options through which a foreigner, including a South African citizen, can become an Australian citizen. One of them refers to citizenship by descent, meaning that the applicant is entitled to Australian citizenship because one of his or her parents is an Australian citizen.
Our Australia migration lawyer can present the entire procedure for becoming an Australian citizen by descent. In this article, we will present the main eligibility criteria which can apply in this case. Thus, a South African may be entitled to the citizenship in the case in which the person was born outside Australia and, at the moment when the birth took place, one of the parents was an Australian citizen.
Below, you can find a short presentation on how to immigrate to Australia from South Africa:
Here, the legislation on immigration to Australia mentions that in the case in which the Australian parent also obtained his or her Australian citizenship by descent, in order for the applicant to be eligible for citizenship, then the respective parent must have spent at least two years in Australia at the moment when the birth took place.
Then, the law distinguishes between applicants who have an age below 18 years old and applicants above this age. The minor applicant can only apply for the citizenship through his or her legal guardians or parents, who will prepare the applications in the name of the minor child.
South Africans who qualify to apply for citizenship in Australia issued on the ground of having a blood tie with an Australian native can obtain the citizenship must faster compared to the time required for citizenship by conferral.
If the citizenship by conferral can take up 21 months, for citizenship by descent, the procedure can be completed in maximum 4 months (it can take even less, around 40 days).
The consular missions of the Australian migration institutions can be found in South Africa in the following cities: Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. Through these consular missions, various immigration documents are processed, but specific visas can be obtained by an online application. For more information, you can always rely on our immigration lawyer in Australia.
The visa application process in Australia
As a South African who wants to migrate to Australia, it is necessary to prepare an extensive set of documents for your visa application process. The visa application process can be complex and you should carefully prepare the documents as required by the Australian law. Any issue can delay the issuance of the visa and this is why you should know that the procedure will imply the following:
- the visa application file will be sent to the Australian Visa Application Center, where it will be carefully analyzed by an agent;
- regardless of the visa that you need, you will have to present the passport, the application form and various supporting documents;
- where official documents are required, you can provide certified copies of such papers and in this case, you will need the assistance of a notary public;
- documents which are in another language than English have to be presented as certified translated copies;
- it is also compulsory to pay the application fee, which is not refundable, regardless on the outcome of the visa application.
Immigrate to Australia from South Africa – required documents
The legislation for immigration in Australia requires all citizens who need to obtain a visa to submit a set of documents with the local immigration authorities (the procedure is done through an embassy or a consulate). As a general rule, one has to submit a special form, which can depend on the type of visa the applicant needs, as well as a certified copy of the passport. The passport must have a validity with at least 6 months longer than the moment when the visa expires.
Foreigners must also submit a recent photograph (passport size) and they must also make the proof of having sufficient financial means for living in Australia. When you move to Australia from South Africa, you will also need a letter of invitation from the family member or the friend you will visit, if you want to obtain a visa for visiting purposes.
You may also be asked to provide evidence showing your commitment to returning to South Africa, in the case of a visa issued for short-term stays. Here, the local authorities may request documents on your property in South Africa, a letter from your employer in your home country and other documents of this nature. If you are interested to immigrate to Australia from South Africa, please address to our lawyer for in-depth legal assistance and representation on the visa application process.