People will spend $30,000 on a car, but not $10,000 to change their lives. This is the one aspect of immigration that, frankly, has us baffled.
One of the greatest fascinations we have here is the fact that many people assume our services ought to be either free, or cheap. It baffles us so much that we had to write about it. Please leave us a comment at the bottom and tell us what you think.
Moving to another country, to spend the rest of your life there, is a massive decision. It is completely life-changing. In fact, it’s like leaving home for the first time – except that, instead of just being young, you’re almost like an infant. You have to start all over again, with language, understanding currency, understanding culture.
Just in terms of the act of moving overseas, it’s a really big deal. Packing up your life in one part of the world to start again in another is not something for the feint of heart.
But people forget about the money; the financial side of things is often lost. And it’s not something people like to discuss.
Many people will think nothing of spending $30 – $100k on a vehicle, for example. A car will need constant maintenance, repair and registration. Even after spending this amount of money, these people may expect to replace it in five years’ time.
This luxury isn’t restricted to cars. You find people who fly all over the world at high rates, with very little comfort or care for the expense. They’ll stay in expensive accommodation just because it has a spa and a mini bar. And, if necessary, they’ll load themselves up with personal debt to have that experience.
Many of these same people believe that spending even $10,000 for the opportunity to live and work legally in Australia – for ever – is too much. What price would you put on the experience of an Australian lifetime?
It’s true that immigration is filled with a need for evidence and scrutiny. But even that is eyed with suspicion, with lots of people refusing to try and understand why. In its simplest form, it’s because it’s law.
The immigration debate is difficult. On one side of the fence you have those ‘Australians’ who think letting people come and live in our country is bad.
You see them tattooed with Australian flags, getting drunk on ANZAC Day, complaining loudly that, “they take our jobs, fill up our hospitals, and bring filthy habits into our country”. Sigh.
Interestingly, when these ‘Australians’ want to apply for a partner visa, which naturally implies the partner is not Australian, they don’t want to pay for the privilege. Apparently they pay taxes and feel that they ought to be able to marry whomever they please.
But it’s not one-sided. On the other side of the coin, you have different nationalities living here or holidaying, who don’t know why they have to pay for the privilege to live here. These people are often from countries where the over-population problem is what brought them here in the first place.
To live and work legally in any country is a legal process. It has to be done properly. Let’s face it, who wants to buy property, have kids in school, and be part of the community only to be asked to leave?
Being asked to leave is far more devastating than doing things right to start with. You need to follow the law, because that is what dictates who can and can’t live here. The law tells us what the criteria for living here will be.
Individuals aren’t the only ones who try to do things on the cheap. Businesses don’t put the effort in to employing qualified professionals from overseas, because it’s too hard.
But imagine if they did. Imagine the magnificent diversity, the larger pool of quality candidates from which they could gain resources, skills and experience. Done well, employing overseas workers is an asset to a business, helping it to grow and adapt.
Legislation is not easy to deal with, in any area. In immigration, it’s often some of the most difficult. For all of these reasons – and many others – dealing with the law costs money.
What do you think? Tell us in a comment below.
