Aussie visa difficulties<\/p>\n
I must comment on Max Lane's most interesting article in the
\nNov. 20 edition of The Jakarta Post where he wrote:
\n\"If you are from a poor country and are traveling to Australia,
\nyou are guilty of being an illegal immigrant seeking residence
\nand work until you can prove yourself innocent. This policy must
\nbe changed to allow equal access for Indonesians to Australia as
\nAustralians have to Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
As an expatriate Australian living and working in Jakarta, I
\nhad first-hand experience of this inequity only recently. I had
\nplanned to take my Indonesian partner to Brisbane in early
\nDecember and so we proceeded to apply for a visa. In her visa
\napplication, my friend included a letter from myself saying that
\nwe would be accommodated in Brisbane at my friend's house and
\nthat I was paying for all the costs associated with the trip. I
\nprovided the name and contact details of my friend in Australia.
\nI also included another letter of recommendation from my employer
\n(who knows my partner) and ticket details of our departing and
\nreturning flights were provided.<\/p>\n
Her application was rejected on the grounds that there was
\ninsufficient evidence that she would be able to support herself
\nin Australia. What can you say to that? I had even included my
\nmost recent payslip in my partner's application to show that I
\nwas earning more than sufficient U.S. dollars to cover the cost
\nof our trip.<\/p>\n
It is embarrassing to me as an Australian living in Indonesia
\nto witness at first hand how our embassy devalues the citizens of
\nthis country. My partner has indeed been judged guilty of being
\npotentially an illegal immigrant, perhaps because she does not
\nhave a U.S. dollar bank account. Suffice it is to say we won't be
\ngoing to Australia this Christmas. Do I need to add that I didn't
\nvote for John Howard?<\/p>\n
SEAN REEVES<\/p>\n
Tangerang, Banten<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aussie-visa-difficulties-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }