Australian visa checks strengthened
February 23 2010 by Liam Clifford
People hoping to move to Australia from certain countries are soon to face stringent new Australian visa requirements.
As part of a Aus$69 million counterterrorism plan,
citizens of ten countries – the names of which have yet to be released – will be
required to give fingerprints and facial imaging data in order to apply for an
Australian visa. The changes are expected to affect people visiting Australia as
well as those hoping to move to Australia
This data will then be
cross-checked with immigration and law enforcement databases in Australia and
overseas, according to the Australian government’s counterterrorism 'white
paper' which was released in Canberra today.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
commented: "Terrorism has become a persistent and permanent feature of
Australia's security environment. Prior to the rise of jihadist terrorism,
Australia was not a specific target. Now Australia is such a target."
The Australian government has said it will not release the names of the
ten countries whose citizens will be affected by the new measures until the
rollout begins. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said: "There may be a diplomatic
effort required in regards to some of those countries, as you would expect."
However, both Yemen and Somalia are named in the policy paper as countries of
increasing concern to those combating terrorism.
The paper also says
that, even though Indonesia has had some success in battling terrorism, the
Jakarta hotel attacks of last July indicate an ongoing threat there.
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