Australian immigration relaxes penalties for overstaying visas
May 05 2009 by Bryan Palmer
People who are living in Australia on temporary visas and overstay their allotted time will now be invited to attend a meeting at an Australian immigration office and may be given bridging visas while they arrange to return to their country of origin.
Previously, anyone overstaying their Australian visa would face being locked up and deported. Therefore, these recent changes represent a major softening of immigration policy.
The previous policy was to take any visa violators to a detention centre where they would face incarceration and deportation. Under the new policy, only violators who are known violent criminals or who have been asked to leave Australia before, will face incarceration.
The new policy is in line with the Rudd government’s more lenient approach to visa applicants and to those who want to move to Australia to work, study or travel.
An insider at the immigration department reported that officers are being told to grant violators bridging visas and work with them to find a way for them to return home. The source stated, "they can get a couple of weeks or six months, whatever it takes to get them home without detaining them."
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