Australian immigration to open two new visa application centres in New Zealand

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Australian immigration is opening two new Australian visa application centres in New Zealand, making it more convenient for people to apply for Australian visas. The two new application centres will be based in Auckland and Christchurch.

The new Australian visa application centres will make it easier and quicker for people to access Australian immigration and citizenship services and apply for the necessary documentation to travel to Australia.

It is important to note that it is not necessary for people with New Zealand citizenship to apply for an Australian visa, unless they have criminal convictions or medical issues, but people with permanent resident status in New Zealand are still required to obtain an Australian visa if they are going to live and work in Australia.

Currently, Australian visa applicants have to apply through the Australian Consulate-General in Auckland which can be a lengthy process. According to Australian Consulate-General principal migration officer Jenny Bell, the new Australian immigration application centres should make submitting and processing applications simpler and faster.

"The centres will have longer opening hours and will be focusing on those client services and administrative side of that process so it should be a much easier and much more straightforward process", said Bell, noting that the application process will still remain the same.

Australian Consulate-General principal migration officer Jenny Bell stated there were around 30,000 applications from New Zealand for Australian visas each year and the number is expected to continue increasing.

Statistics New Zealand revealed earlier this year that net migration from New Zealand to Australia had increased 48 percent in the year ending 31 July, and that the figure for July 2011 was the highest for any July month since 1978.

The Auckland Australia visa application centre will open on 28 November while the Christchurch centre is expected to open early next year.

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