Due to recent natural disasters like the typhoon Haiyan, the refugee crisis and civil war in Syria, Australia has welcomed more refugees in the last 5 years than it has any other time since the end of WW2. If you want to know how to apply for a refugee visa in Australia or want to travel or migrate there yourself, this article will help.

Applying for refugee visa in Australia is a very lengthy, time – consuming and less worthwhile process. Thus, you must be very careful and meticulous to get it approved. But there are a lot of distinguished lawyers that work on making your dream come true.

 The Australian government has announced that the country will accept an increase of 14,000 refugees under its annual refugee intake, taking into account the significant number of asylum seekers traveling to the country by boat. The government also said they will resettle 5,000 of them in 2014-15.

Immigration to Australia has continued to be high on the political agendas of successive Australian governments. The nation’s occupation as a continent isolated from potential migrants’ traditional homelands and its status as a destination which is culturally diverse have led to high interest in immigration into Australia.

Refugee visa (offshore) subclass 200 is a permanent residence visa. Successful applicants will be able to:

• stay in Australia permanently
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare
• bring family members for permanent residence
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years
• if eligible become an Australian citizen
• attend 510 hours of English language classes for free

Who may be eligible for this visa

To qualified applicants must be outside Australia when applying for Refugee visa (Subclass 200) and when the visa outcome is decided.

Applicants may be able to get the Refugee visa if:

• they are living in their home country
• they are subject to persecution in their home country
• they have not been able to leave that country to seek refuge elsewhere

You can also add certain family members to your application at any time before we decide on your application.

For this visa, your family are:

• your partner
• your dependent children
• your partner’s dependent children
• other relatives who are dependent

If your child is not dependent on you, they must apply for their own visa.