An increasing number of Irish nationals are overstaying their Australian visas, according to an article in Australia's Irish Echo.
Figures show the country Down Under now has 1,075 Irish people living there unlawfully, a 24 percent increase from last year.
Ireland's ongoing economic recession appears to be the primary reason that large numbers of Irish are taking the risk to stay past their visa's expiry date.
Michael, a labourer in Sydney, was waiting to get a new passport before he left the country to travel in Asia before going to work in New Zealand.
“I applied for my new passport through the Irish Embassy when I lost mine. I knew it would probably be pushing it with just six weeks left on my visa so I rang up the Department of Immigration," Michael told the Irish Echo.
“I laid it out straight with them, I told them my situation and just asked if I could get an extension on my visa until my new passport came though,” he said.
“I spoke to a guy in Immigration who sent me out the forms to apply for a visa extension. I filled out all these forms and sent them off. But then I was told that I had filled out the wrong forms and I was running out of time. My visa ran out in March and so now I’m just waiting for Immigration to knock at the door and kick me out of the country.”
He said his chances for getting work in Ireland are so slim, that he believes he is better off working illegally in Australia.
“If I went home I would just end up on the dole, there’s just no work for me there."
Barry, also a labourer in Sydney, said: “When you’ve got no other options at home you might as well stay here illegally."
“I had planned on going home but realised I wouldn’t have enough money to live on, especially if there wasn’t a job to go home to.
“I needed to stay to make money and then it just got too late to leave. My visa has been up since March.”
Barry said he isn’t worried if he gets caught. He claimed a friend of his was able to emigrate to another country, even after he was found to have overstayed his visa.
“One of my mates stayed illegally for nearly a year and then he booked flights to Canada and went and confessed all to the Department of Immigration.
“He got away without a record because he showed them his flight details and said he was leaving immediately. He’s looking for work in Canada now,” Barry said.
He added he is worried that employers will become suspicious of Irish people.
There is also concern that an increase in Irish overstaying their visas will lead to Ireland being tagged as a ‘high risk’ country for future visas.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.seanomelbourne | Jun 14, 2011, 07:38 PM EDT
George I'm sorry If I misrepresented you,but I do believe you are a little harsh in your assumption. Ireland as part of the EC must allow the free flow of citizens of member states. In regard to other immigrants there are strict rules on entry or you will be returned.As I have stated previously illegal immigration is a global problem caused by poverty/war.The 5 permanent members of the security council manufacture and export over 90% of the worlds military hardware and none of them give a damn how it affects global migration.If these arms manufacturers ceased arming petty despots part of the problem would be solved. If western nations shared the global wealth( which they procure from poor nation)and countries like Mexico lifted the living standards of it's people the world might be a different place.
maloney | Jun 14, 2011, 05:11 PM EDT
Georgie's got this one right on the money. From what I'm reading and what you have said seano you may be whistling a different tune about illegals in the near future.
GeorgeDillon | Jun 14, 2011, 02:01 AM EDT
seanomelb: You are mistaken. I don't have any "anti Irish bias". In fact I am the most pro-Irish poster on this site. Only I (and to be fair there are a few others) condemn the policy of importing foreign settlers into this small country, a country whose own youth are abandoning it. It is a form of ethnosuicide and it's inevitable result will be the destruction of the Irish nation as constituted for centuries. Ask an Australian aborigine or a Palestinian whether he thinks Mass Immigration is a good idea. I don't know the population of Australia, but in the case of the USA I can tell you that the Irish Open Door Sure And You're All Welcome immigration policy, if replicated here, would have meant an influx of 60/70 millions in the past decade. The US would not permit such an onslaught, indeed there is no sane nation on earth that would collaborate in the demographic rape that the Irish ruling class has visited on their country. They hate Ireland, and seek to plunder it. I, on the other hand, love Ireland and mourn its self-destruction.
seanomelbourne | Jun 13, 2011, 11:56 PM EDT
Do not understand your anti Irish bias George.I'm afraid not Maloney about 3000 illegals have arrived from Iraq/Afghanistan by boat(they somehow get to Indonesia) and smuggled by boat into Australia.
sham1977 | Jun 13, 2011, 04:40 PM EDT
I knew good old Georgie could never resist this one! As predictable as moths to the light. Hasn't his ould soap box worn out yet?
GeorgeDillon | Jun 13, 2011, 09:31 AM EDT
maloney - I understand a lot of travelers from places like China and Vietnam arrive in Australia with illegal foodstuffs such as live roaches, monkey meat, elephant testicles etc. The Australian Customs seem to be efficient in catching many of these. Contrast that with the Customs clowns in Dublin, who smile and wave as Chinese walk thru customs with enough ivory to equip a herd of elephants and enough chimp steak for the next ten Chinese New Year parties.
maloney | Jun 13, 2011, 02:56 AM EDT
So rooland isn't perfect after all. At least your illegals speak English and go threw customs.
seanomelbourne | Jun 12, 2011, 08:43 PM EDT
Australia,s unemployment is around 5.4% we have a labour shortage particularly in the state of Western Australia where it stands at about 4%.Our immigration policy is not perfect neither is it a disaster. It is possible to obtain a 2yr. work visa and depending on your profession or trade extensions are granted and most people end up living here.In fact trades are in short supply and it is possible for plumbers,electricians etc. to earn up to $200,000 in the mining states.The safety net is $850 dollars p/wk and the average award rate is around $900.I might add that employer sponsorship is also a good option.some major Employers are sponsoring Asian migrants on limited visas the problem now is they underpay Asians and will not sponsor Europeans or Australians some employers have been charged and hefty finds paid(and back pay with interest paid to the cheated)
canadianirish | Jun 12, 2011, 04:32 PM EDT
We WELCOME the Irish here in Canada..but be mindful of the fact that our unemployment rate stands at 7.4%
seamusdenais | Jun 12, 2011, 02:39 PM EDT
I will say this and I may not be very popular but you must realize we in Australia are like the Eastern Europeans in Ireland. We ended up discriminating against them in the Celtic Tiger era. Taking our jobs etc.
Dompedro | Jun 12, 2011, 01:33 PM EDT
where's that Melbourne guy when we need "im?
Springfield9 | Jun 12, 2011, 01:16 PM EDT
Australia's immigration policy has been a disaster for the last 50 years. They should grant amnesty to the Irish and give them $500 (AUS) for seed money.
GeorgeDillon | Jun 12, 2011, 12:25 PM EDT
Pittsburghkid: You're right on the money. Why should we feel sympathy for these Irish, when there are lots of jobs in Ireland? The only disagreement I have with you is your reference to "illegal" immigration to Ireland. That's a big problem, but "legal" immigration is an even bigger problem, because the various Irish governments have let vast numbers immigrate legally. In the first five months of 2011, 25.000 legal migrants came into the country, a country where there is supposedly no work and from which its own young people are emigrating in throngs! That's at least a thousand foreign settlers arriving PER WEEK. The inevitable result of these trends was signalled at least five years ago--the Irish will be in an ethnic minority in their own country within two or three decades. The Irish are the only known case of ethnosuicide in the history of the world. I no longer have any sympathy for them--just contempt.
Pittsburghkid | Jun 12, 2011, 12:19 PM EDT
Look at the Big Picture. Ireland is bring illegal immigrants, which lowers wages and forces Irish to migrate illegally. Now you understand why Americans are fighting illegal aliens. Quit calling the American Tea Party racist, and stop illegal migration in Ireland.
cillowen | Jun 12, 2011, 10:20 AM EDT
given the history of crown transportation to populate that barren land why those with ancestry of those long ago planted don't fight for their own blood types is an indication of dead meathead aussies.