Australian immigration sees rise in short stay visa applications

As reported by Work Permit, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship reported an increase in short-term business trips in 2011. New reports show that more than 120,000 applications were submitted for short stay business visas (456 subclass) during the last quarter of 2011.

Any holder of the 456 subclass visa can remain in Australia during three months to perform business activities such as handling negotiations, attending conferences or delivering presentations. The new data, released by Australian immigration, reveal an 11.4% rise in applications during the months of September - December 2011.

The increase in short stay business visa requests shows that 456 visa applications now make up 14% of all visa applications for Australia.

The biggest rise in applications were from China -- nearly 21,000 Chinese nationals. A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship said the increase reflected the strong business relations between Australia and China.