Want To Work And Study In Australia Or A Frequent Traveller?

Written by Cheryl Lee, March 2015

In case you still haven't heard the news - new exclusive arrangements between Singapore and Australia now makes this possible by enhancing visitor visas to allow longer stays, as well as an introduction of a new ‘Work and Holiday Visa Programme’ for Singaporeans.

New Visitor Visas (up to 3 months stay over 6 years) 

Effective 1 Jan 2018, Singaporeans who travel to Australia can now obtain a new visa which will allow them to enter the country for up to 3 months at a time over 6 years. This makes it easier for us to travel to Australia for business or holidays without having to apply for fresh permits every few months, and in the long run, is viewed as being productive for opening Australia up as a market for Singaporean businesses.

New Work and Holiday Visa Programme (up to 1 year)

Effective 1 Aug, a new Work and Holiday Visa Programme will offer 500 places to young adults under 30 in Singapore and Australia to work in either country for up to a year.

Academic criteria as follows:

• Singaporean applicants should be aged 18 to 30 at time of application
• Hold a polytechnic diploma or university degree, or have completed the equivalent of two years of full-time tertiary study at a polytechnic or university.
• Australian applicants should hold a university degree or have completed the equivalent of two years of full-time undergraduate university study.

Travel between both countries has been increasing, with a whopping 400,000 Singaporeans visiting Australia and one million Australians visiting Singapore in 2017 - the new visa arrangements looks to boost tourism and business links between Singapore and Australia even more. It will enable business operators to conduct regular meetings or attend conferences in Australia, as well as allow citizens of both countries to visit friends and family more frequently - bet you didn't know that up to 50'000 Singaporeans currently live in Australia, while 25,000 Australians reside in Singapore!

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-six-year-visa-for-singaporean-travellers-to-australia