I have lived in Aus now for nearly seven years and i am so glad i brought my family here when i did.. I saw the mess the uk was heading in to with europe and decided to get out while i could... Iam however dismayed by the fact Australia will now probably go the same way.. While well educated professional people from the all over the world I am not racist.. pay the aussie govt good money to apply for visas then make them sit for 2 3 4 5 years without any correspondance whatsoever. {ie 175 visas]. It seems the best way to get your visa is to fly to Indonesia get on a fishing boat throw your passport overboard and set sail for xmas island is the fastest and most reliable way to ensure your Australian citizenship.Tank god we have no tunnels or rail links to the rest of the world.. I am all for humanitarian gestures but lets do it the right way lets go to the camps run by unicef and bring back familys. All i see on the news is boat loads of young men.. please please Australia stop making people sit for years on visa applications give peolple a guaranteed time frame for visa application and put people out of thier misery

yes, at times it gets quite frustrating for genuine visa applicants
just see what happened to cat 5 people
at one side the Govt makes it so hard for people to gain Australian Residency and at the other side it welcomes unskilled people who come by boat

Shunts thread into barbie, removes Mods hat and sits with feet on desk chilling out

anyone?

Raven do you know which port the boats leave from,will they also transport my UK telly ???

You know it won't work here unless you plug it in upside down, don't you?

Gotta love a good old 'we left the U.K because of all the immigrants' tale. A classic if you can't beat 'em join 'em

just make sure you put a lifevest on.

I am not racist but.

What I will agree with is the vetting process

God knows what they were doing 7 years ago

From the phrase travel in another mans shoes

.

If you have an issue with visa processing times, may I suggest that you do something constructive such as lobby your local MP.

Your idea for the 'fastest and most reliable way to ensure your Australian citizenship' is fantastic. Bound to work. Can't think why no one's thought of it before. Maybe you could start up a little business selling leaky boats?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar7DgREshAk