Number of Chinese applying for refuge in Australia TRIPLES in just one year as handouts of student and bridging visas massively expand
- Department of Home Affairs numbers show 9315 applications in 2017/18
- That is up 311 per cent on 2016/17 when there were 2269
- Most applicants enter the country on student and tourist visas
- Bridging visas for refugee applicants have quadrupled in one year
New figures show the number of Chinese nationals applying for refuge in Australia has tripled in just a year.
The Department of Home Affairs has released data showing 9315 residents from the People's Republic of China relocated to Australia in 2017-18.
That represented a 311 per cent increase on 2016-17, when that figure had been 2269.
Not all applicants are successful - the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), who have the authority to over-ride decisions from the Department of Home Affairs, has rejected a number of refugees who have claimed to be members of cults, a love child or personally identifying as LGBT.
Recent figures have shown the number of Chinese nationals applying for refuge in Australia has tripled in just a year (stock image)
A big reason for the spike in Chinese nationals is the international student industry in Australia, believed to be worth close to $32billion (stock image)
Joyce Chia, the Refugee Council of Australia director of policy, said many of those applying for refugee status had successfully arrived in Australia on student and tourist visas.
She pointed particularly to the lucrative international student industry in Australia, believed to be worth close to $32billion.
'Chinese people have increasing access [to Australia] is also a large factor,' she told the ABC.
Australia has rubber stamped an estimated 652,000 international student visas in that 12 month period — including almost 200,000 from China.
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'Once you are in the country, either as a tourist or a student, if you then apply for a protection visa, you are eligible for a bridging visa,' Mary Anne Kenny, an Associate professor of law at Murdoch University, said.
'Depending on the type, [it] may give you the right to work and can take some time [to process] depending on how long it takes the department to process the application.'
As of August this year, there were 176,000 people on bridging visas in Australia — a massive spike from roughly 40,000 people in August 2017.
A spokesman from the Department of Home Affairs said 'Australia takes its international obligations seriously.'
'Án assessment of whether an asylum seeker engages Australia's protection obligations is based on the individual merits of each case,' the spokesman said.
The number of Chinese nationals applying for refuge in Australia has tripled in just a year (stock image)
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