On 7 February 2014 the Hon Andrew Robb MP,
Minister for Trade and Investment, and the Hon Scott Morrison MP, Minister for
Immigration and Border Protection announced the extension of entry visas for
Chinese business visitors.
Chinese business visitors are now eligible
for Australian three year multiple entry.
The changes to the business visitor visa stream
were made after the Australian government's decision to grant increased seating
capacity to Chinese airlines to help cater for increased demand during the busy
Chinese New Year period in Australia.
According to the announcement, both Chinese
business visitors and Australian tourism sector will benefit from the increased
flexibility offered by new three-year multiple entry visitor visa. As Minister
Rob said, the change would bring flow-on economic benefits to the tourism
industry, including airlines, hotels, restaurants, the business events sector
and other providers catering to Chinese visitors.
"Chinese
business visitors will now be eligible to apply for a three year multiple entry
visa, increasing the prospect of repeat visits to Australia, which would be
warmly welcomed by our tourism sector" said Minister Robb.
"These
changes will also support the government's ambitious trade and investment
agenda and increase the opportunities to do business with China. Total Chinese
investment in Australia grew more than eight-fold between 2002 and 2012, to $23
billion and we want to see stronger continued growth," he added.
Noting that China is the largest source of
business visitors which represents 18.5 percent of all applications in the
business visitor stream in the first quarter of 2013-2014, Minister Scott
Morrison said that this is a significant opportunity to capitalize on this
interest by making the process easier. He believes that such measures will help
open up Australia for business while still maintaining visa integrity.
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