Requests for Australian visas drop drastically

JAKARTA (JP): The Australian Embassy says the number of Indonesians applying for visitor visas to Australia has dropped significantly.

John Milne, a public affairs official at the embassy, said yesterday that due to the economic situation, the number of visitor visa applicants for Jan. 1998 dropped 57 percent compared to Jan. 1997.

The number of visitor visas issued by the embassy between July 1, 1997 and Jan. 31, 1998, was 56,679 -- 24 percent less than the 74,230 issued during the July 1, 1996 to Jan. 31, 1997 period, Milne said.

The embassy received 132 business skills migration visa applications during Dec. 1997.

For each of the five months preceding December and for Jan. 1998, the numbers were in the 30s and 40s, Milne said.

He explained the high December figure was because as of Jan. 1, the Australian government raised the fee for the business skills migration visa 50 percent from Rp 5.01 million (US$500) to Rp 7.63 million.