Moving to Australia from Italy

When moving to Australia from Italy there are certain immigration formalities that have to be completed by all Italian applicants. Whether the Italian citizens will arrive for short-term stays or for long-term stays, certain immigration procedures should be followed.

This is also applicable in the case in which Italians will arrive here for touristic purposes. For this, they will still need to comply with minimum formalities for immigration to Australia.

Complex visa procedures are applicable when a person wants to relocate to Australia for work purposes – there are many visa options, varying based on the type of employment and the skills level.

For example, the Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189) represents an immigration document issued on a permanent basis, which means that the foreigner who holds the visa can stay here on an indefinite period of time.

This implies that the foreigner will become a permanent resident and this can open the pathway to applying for citizenship in Australia, if this will be something of interest for the foreigner.

Other visas for work, which offer residence in Australia on a limited or unlimited basis, can be the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa, the Global Talent visa or the Distinguished Talent visa.

A visa issued for permanent stay is the Subclass 190 – Skilled Nominated Visa, but there is an age requirement. The applicant must be maximum 45 years old at the moment of the application.

For these, and for any other immigration matters, you can always address to our immigration lawyer in Australia.

What rules must Italians follow for visiting Australia?

Italians are required to comply with certain immigration procedures when arriving here for tourism purposes. The procedures that have to be observed when moving to Australia from Italy are given by the Visitor Visa – Subclass 600.

The Subclass 600 is a visa that is issued only for touristic purposes and since 2021, the Department of Home Affairs has changed the application procedure, in the sense that all foreigners can now use the online system, rather than the traditional visa application system.

Since 2022, all applicants who immigrate to Australia from Italy must apply online, by using the online platform of the Australian immigration institution, through the ImmiAccount.

What is the trend on immigration to Australia from Italy?

Persons from Italy migrate to Australia for 2 main purposes: 1) for tourism activities and 2) for work-related activities. Important numbers can also be observed for a 3rd main purpose, which refers to the issuance of visas for students who want to learn in Australia.

In the list below, you can observe the main trends with regards to foreigners moving to Australia from Italy. The data covers a decade, from 2004 to 2015:

• the highest number of visas issued by the Australian authorities was observed for the visitor visa, which accounted for 587,496 visas for the entire period;
• per year, the demand for visitor visas from Italian citizens is of more than 50,000;
• a major demand comes from the Working Holiday Visa program, which represents the 2nd most important visa issued for Italians (83,462 visas issued over the entire period);
• another reason for moving to Australia from Italy is for study purposes – overall, Australia issued 24,797 student visas for Italians;
• Italians are also interested in Australia for business purposes – in the period of 2004-2015, there were 11,681 long-term business visas issued for Italian nationals.

A lower demand was observed for long-term or permanent relocation; here, there were 3 main types of visas programs Italians applied for:

1. the partner program – there were 3,691 visas issued in the said period;
2. the employer sponsor program, with 3,221 visas;
3. the skilled independent visa, accounting for 795 visas.

What documents are necessary when moving to Australia from Italy?

The paperwork required for an Italian who will immigrate to Australia varies based on the type of visa he or she wants to apply for. However, regardless of the visa type, Italians have to prepare a basic set of documents.

Our Australia migration lawyer has prepared a short list presenting the main documents all applicants have to prepare when moving to Australia from Italy:

1. the passport, which must be valid for minimum 3 months since the day of arriving in the country;
2. information regarding the residential address, name, e-mail address, etc.;
3. proof of having sufficient financial funds to cover the expenses of staying here.

If you need further information on the process of moving to Australia from Italy, our lawyer can present other basic legal requirements. Please contact us if you want to relocate to Australia.