What is worse?

[donnashuggy]

Those that overstay their visa that fly in (majority)

or

Those that arrive by boat.......with the possibily of seeking asylum (unlikely) and sent back.

I generally keep up with what is going on and don't understand the governments fixation with boats when the numbers are the clear minority.

[spotweldersfriend]

I've worked with quite a few of them over the last 3 years,donna. Koreans,Taiwanese and Japanese.They're hard working,friendly,modest
and polite.I like them.😊

[donnashuggy]

Whenever I make friends from Asian countries I get them to teach me to cook their food 🙂

[**meep**]

i love asian food but prefer middle-eastern cuisine.  i have been making koftas, hummus and tabuleh almost every weekend now.

[tall_bearded]

So why can’t they get a visa? 

In any event, if they can’t get one and are therefore forced to use the Indonesian alternative, why would they extend their stay in detention by destroying their identity documents before they get here?

I mean, we keeping on hearing that when “refugee” is asserted we should allow these people into the community without first conducting an identify check (which may have some merit when it comes to those who never had documents in the first place), but I am hard pressed to do the same for persons who had them but chose to destroy them, or allowed someone else to do it for them

[freakiness]

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@am*3 wrote:

.. don't understand the governments fixation with boats when the numbers are the clear minority.

Boat arrivals in Australia

2008 -  7 boats, 161 passengers

2010 -  134 boats,  6555 passengers

2013 - 300 boats, 20 587 passengers. (source: news.com.au, rest are from aph.gov)

Nothing to be concerned about?

How many people enter Australia by plane without a passport, or a visa if one is required by Aust for people from their country?

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Yep, and if we herded them all into the MCG and told them to sit there would still be seats vacant.  

How big is the problem really?  

What are the rogues doing while they have far too much attention diverted to this?

[freakiness]

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@tall_bearded wrote:

The simple fact that most here seem to conveniently overlooks –

With very few exceptions, the point of embarkation for those persons collectively referred as boat people is Indonesia, and to get there (Indonesia), they had to have had in their possession valid identity and travel documents.  That is, they didn’t trek by foot thousands of kilometres across often inhospitable terrain being hotly pursued hostile forces so that they could clandestinely enter Indonesia, where they went into hiding before seeking the assistance of a smuggler to get them to their final destination (Australia).  No, if what we have been told by successive governments can be believed (and not even the Greens dispute it), the booking is prearranged and paid for before they leave there country of origin, they came in by Airbus or Boeing, pass through Indonesian Immigration, show their passport and  obtain a temperate visitor’s visa, and then are picked by the tour guide (smuggler), housed in the open in some cheap hotel, and then when the boat is ready, board a bus to the dock when they hand over their documents before boarding. 

So this then brooks the question, if they had a valid travel documents to begin, with why don’t they simply buy a ticket to Australia and then when they reach immigration, claim asylum.  I mean it would be far simpler and cheaper than the Indonesian alternative.  

As for those who overstay their visa, they are not entitled to any form of social security payment.  So the only way they can support themselves by working illegally or reeling on charity from family and friends.  Then when they get caught they are deported as illegal aliens.  Furthermore if they then apply for mother visa well you know the answer to that one, and oddly enough these rules apply to everyone irrespective of your nationality, race or religion. 

---

How can you be so sure they didn't walk for miles?

Many don't just take a nice orderly flight to Indonesia and then ditch their papers. They have to ditch their papers before they leave their home state, in many cases.

[tall_bearded]

I would have thought the meaning was self-evident.

There are two groups of people for the purposes of this discussion.

The first are those who come here with for some other purpose, study, holidays etc. and decide not to go back.  Now this group if they claim refugee status must have their application processed in the same way as any other person caiing to be a refugee.

The other are those who arrive by boat without papers and claim asylum.

Now logic dictates, if I wanted to come to Australia and claim asylum the easiest, most cost effective and safest way to do wold be to apply for a tourist visa, buy a ticket to Sydney, and then when I reach immigration use the refugee word.   So why do they chose the more costly and dangerous alternative and distroy there papers to boot.

[donnashuggy]

I don't think you can get a tourist visa if you come from Sudan 🙂

[freakiness]

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@tall_bearded wrote:

I would have thought the meaning was self-evident.

There are two groups of people for the purposes of this discussion.

The first are those who come here with for some other purpose, study, holidays etc. and decide not to go back.  Now this group if they claim refugee status must have their application processed in the same way as any other person caiing to be a refugee.

The other are those who arrive by boat without papers and claim asylum.

Now logic dictates, if I wanted to come to Australia and claim asylum the easiest, most cost effective and safest way to do wold be to apply for a tourist visa, buy a ticket to Sydney, and then when I reach immigration use the refugee word.   So why do they chose the more costly and dangerous alternative and distroy there papers to boot.

---

Can you explain how they can get a visa to enable them to travel to Australia?  

Every story I've read by asylum seekers discussed how they had no hope of leaving their country without fake ID.

[**meep**]

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@tall_bearded wrote:

So why can’t they get a visa? 

---

Do you think that tourist visas are automatically approved?

Let me think of a reason for rejection........how about -  Conditions that might encourage the applicant to remain in Australia

(Its on those grounds that my cousin's tourist visa was rejected, poor kid...His brother died in a  horrific car accident. My aunty wanted him to come here for a holiday.  He had no intention of overstaying but nope. Visa denied)