London, Jan 24: Australia is one of the most attractive destinations for Southeast Asia citizens. You can spend a wonderful holiday in Australia which has so many wonderful places to visit and it's very close and convenient.

On the other hand, many Southeast Asians are looking to relocate to Australia, where they can earn more than in their country of origin and have a better life.

No matter what your plans are, you will have to secure a visa before you can hop on a plane and go to Australia. Here’s what you need to know.

Tourist visas for Australia

If you want to visit Australia you need to apply for a Subclass 600 visitor visa. You can do this online or your travel agency can assist you with that. However, keep in mind that this only applies for people with a clean criminal record.

If you have any offence, no matter how minor, on your criminal record you will need to apply for a visa through the Home Affairs office. As part of the process you will have to complete a declaration mentioning your past criminal offences. Be truthful about it since you will also have to provide a national police certificate issued by the relevant authorities in your country of origin.

In general, people with minor offences on their criminal record don’t need to worry about getting a visa. If you’ve been sentenced to less than 12 months in jail there’s no reason for your application to be rejected, unless your offence was of a sexual nature or had anything to with terrorist activities.

Working visas for Australia

If you’re thinking about finding a job in Australia you will need to have a Working visa. Australian businesses employing Southeast Asian citizens that do not have the required visa risk paying heavy fines if they are caught.

The good news is there are several types of visas you can apply for, as Australia encourages the migration of skilled workers.

General Skilled Migration program

Also known as Skillselect, this is a point-based visa program that takes into account your qualifications, age, proficiency in English etc. Having completed some courses in Australia or previous employment in the country is a plus.

Skilled Independent Visa

To apply for this type of visa, you need to be qualified to work in a field where there’s a shortage of skilled workers. To see if you qualify, you can consult the Skilled Occupation List (SOL). You don’t need sponsorship from an employer to apply for this type of visa.

Employer Nomination Scheme

You can use this if you have found an Australian company willing to employ you.

TSS Visa (Temporary Skill Shortage)

For this type of visa you also need your Australian employer’s sponsorship. Since it’s a temporary visa, it can be granted for a period of 2 to 4 years.

What documents do you need to obtain a working visa

You can apply online for a working visa. You will have to complete a declaration and submit various documents. For instance, you might be required to submit your educational credentials and proof that you’ve worked in a certain field before. At the same time, you will have to submit an Australian national police certificate.

It is important to know that there is a cost associated with national police certificates and although the rules state that you will not be able to obtain a free police check, applicants should be able to obtain one at a nominal price of around USD42 to USD50 AUD in Australia.

Keep in mind that if you’ve ever lived in Australia before for more than 12 months at a time you will probably be required to submit a background check from this country as well. This is not a problem since you can easily use an online character check agency that provides full background checks, no matter in which part of the country you’ve lived before.

In order to demonstrate your proficiency in the English language, you might also be required to provide an IELTS/TOEFL test.

How Southeast Asians can travel or obtain employment in Australia

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