The Australian visa system is made up of maybe 70+ visa types with specific purposes, all designed to match specific situations. These are the situations in which the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has decided that it is reasonable for certain people to enter Australia from other countries like the Philippines. Meet the criteria (Migration Regulations 1994), and they will grant you a visa and let you in. Don’t meet the criteria, and you don’t get in. Simple as that.

And what’s more, the visas are designed around what’s best for Australia. People are allowed into Australia to the benefit of Australia and Australian Citizens. It has nothing to do with what somebody wants to do or how much they want to move to Australia from Philippines, and those who try to use an Australian visa application as a stepping-stone to a better life will soon be disappointed.

Applicants wanting a stepping-stone visa to Australia

I had one today. “Can I get a working visa to Australia? I’m a caregiver.” What Filipinos mean by “caregiver” is someone who takes care of normally an old person. Bathes them. Feeds them, etc. I explain that there are no work visas for that type of work in Australia. “How about a bartender? I’m also a bartender.” Again, no. “How about a student visa?” *groan*

Told me outright that she was looking for a visa as a stepping-stone to Australia. I don’t want to sound unsympathetic, because I know how tough people can do it here in the Philippines. Everyone wants to secure their future, and can’t blame anybody for that. But the reality is that no one can just go to Australia because they want to. If there were no restrictions, the Philippines would be empty by about this time next week.

From Down Under Visa’s point of view? I’m an Australian. I may live in the Philippines, but I remain an Aussie and I want what’s best for Australia and I have no interest in visa applications that are not genuine. Australia’s visa system is only tough because there are so many people trying to mess about with it and therefore they have to crack the whip on everybody. They can’t just take everybody’s word for it that they are sincere and genuine in their visa applications because there are so many trying to abuse that system. And those like our caregiver-bartender-student simply don’t match up with any particular visa. Australia doesn’t have a skills shortage of caregivers or bartenders. And study would be a waste of time and resources as they had no real interest in studying. It would have been so they could work 20 hours a week and seek out opportunities to stay longer when the course ended.

Down Under Visa manage legitimate visa applications only

Honestly? Apart from the fact I won’t assist applicants to bend the truth on applications, I really have no interest in doing that type of work. Australian Citizens are entitled to marry a woman from the Philippines, and from my view they are very wise to do so. And the Department of Immigration also recognizes that and has visas to match, ie. partner visas and prospective marriage visas. Families built on sound marriages are what a stable society is built on. Decent Australian men with good women? That HAS to be good for Australia, and I’m proud of the fact that my family….me, my wife, my son and now my daughter….can help to make this happen many hundreds of times a year. I want to continue putting my time into this.

So we will continue doing what we do, and that is primarily to help Australian Filipina couples to get together and to build their families. And we’ll continue to work within the rules and to maintain a reputation as ethical migration agents and consultants. There are enough cowboys out there who will tell you what you want in order to make a quick buck, and applicants totally unqualified for Australian visas will keep applying for student visas and work visas only to be met with refusals. And these cowboy operators will come and go over the years, whereas Down Under Visa is in this for the long term. And the Harvie family will continue to be the one trusted name in Australian visas for Australian Filipina couples.