Well, this is embarrassing!
According to The Star, over 64,000 people are living illegally in Australia and Malaysia has reportedly topped the list, with over 9,440 Malaysians overstaying their welcome.
China is number two on the list, with 6,500 people living illegally in the country, while 5,710 were from the United States and 3,680 from the United Kingdom.
Source: Gap Year
According to Australian Immigration authorities, more than two thirds of these individuals arrived in Australia on legal visas but overstayed their welcome, some of them remaining in the country over two years past their visa expiry date.
One person on this list has reportedly overstayed their visa and managed to avoid the authorities for about 40 years. However, it is unknown whether or not this person is still alive.
Source: MaltaWinds
More than 70 per cent of these people were there on expired visitor visas, 15 per cent of them were on expired student visas, while 3 per cent of them were on expired working holiday visas.
You would think overstaying a visa would mean immediately getting arrested and deported if you encounter the authorities, but apparently, it doesn’t sound as bad as we thought!
Source: The Telegraph
According to Australia’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the Australian Government implemented a Community Status Resolution service.
This service apparently helps illegal immigrants resolve their status.
A bridging visa can even be granted until their immigration matter is completely sorted out.
Wow, and here we thought they would immediately deport illegal immigrants. Interesting!
Given this seemingly straightforward process, it shouldn’t be a problem for illegal immigrants to sort out their paperwork. We hope the Malaysians overstaying their visas in Australia will be able to sort their statuses out soon!
Also read: New Zealand Wants International Students and Workers Due to Dwindling Population
