Australia investigating if Irish using names 'as gaeilge' in visa fraud

Australian Authorities are investigating whether some people are using their Irish language names to commit visa fraud.

The Irish Independent reports there are concerns that people are applying for work permits they are not entitled to using Irish language passports, having previously used their English one.

Officers from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection travelled to Dublin in February to investigate the claims with their Irish counterparts.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is reported to be taking measures to help combat the problem.

Edwina Shanahan, Migration Expert Visafirst.com said: “In our experience over the years, we have not come across this often.

“However the news does reflect the popularity of the Australia Working Holiday Visa (WHV) amongst Irish people.

“I speak with people every day who have already used their WHV but want to get back to Oz – my advice is obviously to always do things above board. Trying to get a visa by bending the rules never works out for the individual.

“Australian Immigration are always clamping down on fraud and illegal immigrants. There are plenty of “further stay” options for Irish people – and while these can be more expensive and often involve more documentation and assessment that the WHV – they are the legal options that people should be looking at.

“There are over 600 occupations eligible for the 457 employer sponsorship route and a similar number of occupations that are eligible to apply to the various states of Australia for state sponsored resident visas.

“These visas allow you to legally live and work and apply for further stay as needed and bring dependants.

“If you want to stay or go back to Australia to work, then you’re best to do this by the book so that you can stay on if you want to. There is no point to get an unnecessary ban of three years or more.

“All bans influence further stay applications and should be avoided if you want to travel further, and most of us do!”