Good news for UK-bound South Australians

A recent agreement between the UK and Australia means that UK visa applicants from South Australia will no longer need to travel to other states to submit a visa application, potentially saving applicants hundreds of dollars and days of travel time.

Australian Working Holiday Visa“The recently launched service enables UK visa applicants from South Australia to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photograph), a key part of the application process, at the Department’s offices in Adelaide,” explained Senator Michaelia Cash, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (IBP). “Previously, UK visa applicants in SA had to visit Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra or Perth to complete the UK visa application process.”

Senator Cash revealed that the IBP already has a strong and productive relationship with UK Visas and Immigration, especially where biometrics are concerned.

“While we will not have access to this data, shared visa and biometric collection facilities and services are a big part of our relationship, and these services are in place around the world,” she said.

“This initiative builds upon that cooperative government-to-government relationship including in the context of the Five Countries Conference (Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, USA and Canada), and it also provides a significant convenience to residents in Adelaide who want to travel to the UK.”

Recently released figures show that the number of Australians moving permanently to Britain has increased steadily in the past ten years, from 4,800 in 2001 to 9,200 in 2011. However, the number of young Aussies heading to the UK on Working Holiday visas has almost halved since 2005.

Article published 21st October 2013

Australian in London - Good news for UK-bound South Australians

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