Melbourne, Jun 19 (PTI) Indians will now be able to visit Australia more conveniently after the government announced online visitor visa facility for them from July 1 to cash in on the rising popularity of the country as a holiday destination. In the first four months of 2017 alone, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) granted more than 65,000 visitor visas to Indians. According to the DIBP, with the rising popularity of Australia as a holiday destination, there has been a significant rise in demand for Australian visas in India. Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Alex Hawke said the online application option would make applying for Australian visitor visas easier and ultimately enhance the visitor experience for Indian citizens. “Indian nationals wishing to visit Australia will soon be able to apply for a visitor visa in a more convenient and accessible manner,” Hawke said. “Online lodgement for visitor visa applications is a significant enhancement that will benefit Indian applicants seeking to visit Australia as tourists or business visitors, or those wanting to reconnect with family and friends,” he said. The move comes amid hundreds of complaints from Indians wishing to travel to Australia and facing inordinate delays in obtaining visitor visas. Online lodging will offer benefits such as accessibility, electronic payment of the visa application charge and ability to check the status of applications lodged online, all through the department’s ImmiAccount portal. Being able to check the status of an application online, as soon as it is finalised, will allow Indian applicants to finalise their travel arrangements as soon as possible. PTI
