Australia and New Zealand Immigration News

Albert Buitenhuis, a South African chef, faces deportation from New Zealand because he is too fat. Mr Buitenhuis, 50, is five feet eight inches tall (173cm) and weighs 286 pounds ( 20 stone 6 pounds, 130kg) and has lived in New Zealand for six years.

Mr Buitenhuis had worked in New Zealand for six years with an Essential Skills work visa. He then applied to Immigration New Zealand for a resident visa but was refused in May 2013 because his weight means that there is a significant risk that he would become a heavy burden on the New Zealand health system.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) issued a secret report in 2011 which highlighted the ease with which Indian applicants for Australian visas were able to commit identity fraud. The report said that, until Indian systems for issuing passports are improved, there is little that DIAC can do to wipe out visa fraud by Indian applicants.

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced that, from now on, all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat will be sent to the processing centre on the island of Manus, which is part of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

An Australian television station has broadcast allegations that one of the world's largest outsourcing companies, Tata Consulting Services (TCS), routinely abused Australia's temporary work visa system by employing Indian workers in roles where there was no shortage of native Australian workers.

Australian industry bodies have criticised the Australian government for its decision to impose hefty new visa fees from 1st July 2013. They say that the new fees are unfair and may damage the Australian education and tourism industries. The government announced in 2011 that it intended to introduce new visa charges to try to raise $613m over four years but the level of the new fees was not revealed until 14th June 2013.

Among the changes are

Australia is world-famous for its high standard of living. It is known as 'the lucky country' and was one of the few developed countries to survive the global economic slowdown which began in 2007 largely unscathed. If you would like to go and live there, we can help.

Australia accepts about 200,000 new permanent residents annually through its permanent migration programme and also welcomes about 100,000 skilled foreign workers each year as temporary workers under the '457' temporary work visa.