TENS of thousands of residents trying to bring persecuted family members to Australia on special humanitarian visas face little chance of success this year, with the program cut to just 750 places.
Only 149 places are left for the next six months, despite a backlog of 20,500 people with family links to Australia, including 12,000 husbands, wives or children seeking resettlement.
The dramatic cut in special humanitarian places, compared with 3000 visas granted last year and 9000 in 2003, has been linked by the federal government to the increase in boat arrivals.
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But the Refugee Council of Australia has called for the government to scrap its linking of the two programs, whereby each visa granted to a boat arrival causes a place to be lost from the special humanitarian program.
In a submission to a government review of the refugee intake, the council said drastic cuts to the visa designed to bring close family members of refugees to Australia is creating increased ''tensions and frustrations'' between community groups, and hosility towards boat arrivals. The council has documented separated families facing financial and mental health distress and, in some cases, encouraging family members to join the flood of boat arrivals.
''If there is no way we can reunite with our family, we have little choice but to help our family come by boat,'' one Burmese refugee living in Bendigo said.
An African community leader in NSW said if Australia commits to bringing refugees it should ''finish the job''. ''We would have fewer cases of people going for counselling if families were here. They cannot cope with the fact that their sons, daughters, wives are back overseas''.
The Immigration Department, in a briefing paper, warned that the special humanitarian program ''is facing the greatest pressure since its inception''.
The federal government is considering introducing private sponsorship to increase the number of places available without hitting the federal budget.
The refugee council chief executive, Paul Power, said few could afford to sponsor a family member, but may be willing to provide accommodation and support.
He said Australia was the only country in the world that limited its humanitarian intake by creating a numerical link with asylum seekers arriving at its border.

Здравствуйте, подскажите пожалуйста, какие у меня шансы на переезд в австралию на ПМЖ: мне 28 лет, я замужем, ребенк 3 года, я инженер по отоплению, вентиляции и кондиционированию

New labour agreement to help tourism employersTuesday, 24 January 2012
Joint Media release with Chris Bowen MP – Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and Martin Ferguson AM MP – Minister for Tourism.
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen MP, and the Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, today invited public comment on a new template labour agreement to help the tourism and hospitality sectors attract skilled workers from overseas.
The proposed template agreement establishes a common set of requirements tailored specifically for tourism and hospitality businesses recruiting skilled overseas workers, and follows discussions with industry at the Tourism Employment Roundtable hosted by Minister Ferguson in August 2011.
The development of a template labour agreement will help to ease labour and skills pressures by improving the tourism and hospitality industry's ability to attract and retain labour in some of the occupations identified by the industry as being in critical shortage.
Mr Bowen said this would cover experienced waiters, chefs, bar attendants, hotel managers and other occupations, which can be hard to fill locally or may be ineligible under other migration programs.
'This template seeks a balance between upholding the standards of the visa system while giving employers easier access to workers whose skills are hard to find in Australia,' Mr Bowen said.
'Approved employers could nominate workers for temporary skilled subclass 457 visas using the template, enabling workers to be granted visas where they meet the requirements.
'Of course, employers would need to show they are doing their best to employ and train domestic workers and paying market rates.'
Minister Ferguson said the template labour agreement will help address critical skills shortages in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
'Research has found that there are already 36 000 vacancies in this industry and by 2015 another 56 000 workers will be required, particularly in regional areas,' Minister Ferguson said.
'Tourism injects around $35 billion a year into the Australian economy and the government is acting to ensure labour and skills issues impacting on the tourism industry's competitiveness are addressed under the National Long–Term Tourism Strategy, Tourism 2020.
'This announcement comes on the back of the introduction of the seasonal worker program, the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot in Broome and the Guide to the 457 program for the tourism and hospitality industries.'
Views are sought from stakeholders on the list of eligible businesses, occupations, salary, skills levels and English language requirements.

с английским у меня пока не очень, но я хочу начать его учить усиленно. А скажите пожалуйста есть ли у меня шансы устроится по специальности в австралии на работу

проблемы нужно решать по мере их поступления. пока нужно учить английский, до требуемого уровня проходит обычнно 2 -3 года, затем нужно получить признание профессии и затем если удастся набрать 65 баллов можно подавать на иммирацию. ну а с работой - также как если бы вы из одного города в россии перехали в другой

через 3 года моей дочке надо будет идти в школу, сможет ли она там учится? и как для маленьких русских вообще идет подготовка к школе?

Все дети старше 5 лет находящиеся на территории Австралии ОБЯЗАНЫ ходить в шкколу. подготовка русских детей идет также как и монгольских, американских, китайских, австралийских, немецких итд (всего около 250 национальностей и гражданств).

а государство платит пособие по безработице первое время пока чаловек не устроится на работу, я имею ввиду иммигранта

Евгений подскажите,у меня такая ситуация,я делала туристическую визу через агенство(учеба за рубежом)на курсы английского языка,курс был на 1,5 месяца,но туристическая виза подразумевает срок нахождения в Австралии * 3 месяца,но я должна была по договору агенства вылетить из страны после учебы,но я перенесла вылет до конца срока действии визы,т.к у меня живет там мой жених,хотелось больше побыть вместе.И мне агенство прислало письмо,что они отправили письмо в посольство ,о том что я нарушала договор срока прибывания в стране,Скажите мы с парнем делаем визу невесты,это плоха скажется на нас???

Никакого пособия иммигрантам не положено в течении первых 2 лет пребывания в стране.