Destination Australia

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1 March Last updated 1 minute ago gulfnews.com In Focus Australia Destination Australia A major factor that attracts immigrants to Australia is that they get permanent resident rights. They are regarded as landed immigrants from the day they land. After two years of living in the country they have the same rights and benefits as Australian citizens and they are guaranteed to get their citizenship. By Abigail Mathias, Gulf News Report Published: 00:00 December 20, 2005 loading Close [x] Australia is a popular choice for immigrants today. When Satish Chenglath and his wife moved to Australia two years ago, they never imagined they'd be this happy. Chenglath says, "Having lived in Dubai for more than nine years we decided it was time to move to a permanent place we could call home. We had nobody in Australia and had heard that it was a great place, with a very robust economy. Our only concern was whether we would get jobs there but going through the jobs online we saw fantastic opportunities." He says, "We chose Australia because of its temperate climate, especially in Sydney, which is where we now reside." This couple, like many others, is happy they relocated. Says Chenglath, "It's just the best thing we did. Both my wife and I got jobs within four weeks of shifting. I am up to speed regarding my job profile and we became parents a few months ago. My wife has been able to fulfill her dream of being a stay at home mother for the next few years."

2 Family centric society He adds, "This is a very family centric society with the major onus being placed on a good quality of life, mutual respect and equality." Australia has become a popular choice for immigrants. Chenglath says, "The process took 18 months for us since some of the paperwork got delayed. It normally takes up to 12 months from filing an application." He offers some advice: "It's very important to engage an efficient agent, as you can be sure that if they took up your case, you'd be going through without wasting time, money and hope. Shifting base was a bit tricky as there aren't many services available in Dubai but the Internet is a great resource for landing services like hotels. Once you land in Australia the centrelink (Government agency) offices are available for all enquiries and resources like computers and faxes for sending out resumes. The market here has a very good opinion of people from the UAE as everybody knows that it is a melting pot of so many nationalities and they appreciate that type of exposure." Aries International has been conducting migration procedures for 10 years. They say a majority of applicants from the UAE are of Indian origin. Elizabeth Joseph spokeswoman for Aries Middle East and Africa says, "People prefer Australia because the climate is good. This is particularly true for people from Asian countries. Another reason they prefer Australia is because children's education is free. People who migrate also get social security. Besides this health services are free so people feel more secure in the fact that they can save money in this part of the world." She adds, "People in the UAE are tired of paying high rents here. The cost of living is one of the main reasons they decide to shift. When they realise that they can save much more in Australia, they feel confident of moving." Joseph says the number of applicants is steadily on the increase. She mentions that there are certain prerequisites for people who want to migrate to Australia.

3 "Though general applicants over the age of 44 cannot apply, the Australian government has now extended the business category. We are one of the few organisations that help people who are over the age of 55 to apply in a business category." Simple process Joseph adds, "If you are qualified and going to a genuine consultant, the process of migration is simple. Migrating to Australia is quite simple compared to Canadian immigration, which requires an interview and a verification of bank statements." She says, "There are many professions in very high demand in Australia. We ask our applicants for their resume for a mandatory assessment, so as to suggest their eligibility." Australia is one of the more favoured destinations among applicants around the world. Says Joseph, "We get a number of clients from all the GCC countries and there are a number of people from South Africa as well." Premiers is a registered migrant consultancy that has branch offices in Abu Dhabi and Iran. Imran Farooq is the director of the group and says his company processes an average of cases a year. He says, "The majority of our clients are expatriates living in the UAE. Australia has several categories for migration. The market share for the UAE is divided with 70 per cent of applicants from the skilled section, 20 per cent under the service category and 10 per cent is business or family category. A majority of people who qualify are engineers, accountants, IT professionals, chefs and traders." The Australian embassy in the UAE doesn't deal with visas or migration applications. Farooq says, "They never dealt with migration as the processing work is conducted in Adelaide, Australia." He says, "People shift from one country to another for various reasons and their main agenda is a better future. A major factor that attracts immigrants to other countries like Australia is that they get permanent

4 resident rights. They are regarded as landed immigrants from the day they land. After two years of living in the country they have the same rights and benefits as Australian citizens and they are guaranteed to get their citizenship. This brings with it a lot of social security benefits. He adds, "Because of the favourable weather and living conditions, Australia is one of the favoured destinations for UK immigrants because they can buy much bigger houses with the same amount of money." Huge advantage Another huge advantage of the Australian immigration process is that the immigration authority gives applicants plenty of time to relocate. Once an applicant gets a visa they have approximately six to eight months to arrive in Australia and can then move permanently anytime before a period of five years from the date the visa was issued allowing for a lot of flexibility. Offbeat Australia There's much more to Australia than beaches and kangaroos... Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. It's about the same size as the 48 mainland states of the US and 50 per cent larger than Europe, but has the lowest population density in the world only two people per square kilometre. Australia boasts over 7,000 beaches more than any other nation. Australia produces 95 per cent of the world's precious opals and 99 per cent of black opals. Coober Pedy in South Australia is known as the opal capital of the world. Its population is made up of more than 40 nationalities and, with year round extremes in temperature, more than 50 per cent of the population lives in underground?dugouts'. Kalgoorlie in Western Australia is not only Australia's largest producer of gold, but has the world's largest political electorate covering a mammoth 2.2 million square kilometres.

5 The kangaroo is unique to Australia and one of the most easily recognised mammals. There are more kangaroos in Australia now than when Australia was first settled. Estimates suggest there are around 40 million. Australia's 140 million sheep (mostly merinos), found on around 53,000 properties, produce more than 70 per cent of the world's wool. With 24 million head of cattle, Australia is the world's largest exporter of beef. The world's longest stretch of straight railway track crosses the Nullarbor Plain. From Nurina in Western Australia to near Watson in South Australia, the track is dead straight for 478 kilometres. The Eyre Highway at Caiguna in Western Australia has the longest stretch of straight road in Australia 148 kilometres. Crossing the southern edge of the Nullarbor Plain, it is the only sealed road from Perth to Adelaide, a 2,700 kilometre drive. The world's longest continuous fence known as the? dingo fence', runs through central Queensland for 5,531 kilometres. It is 1.8 metres high and is designed to keep sheep safe from Australia's native dog. Australia supports at least 25,000 species of plants, while Europe only supports 17,500.