New Oz visa centre is opened in Port Moresby
28 September 2011
THE FIRST of two new Australian Visa and Application Centres was officially opened in Port Moresby on Monday by High Commissioner Ian Kemish.
The centre provides more convenient access to immigration and citizenship services for Papua New Guinea.
Mr Kemish said the most notable of improvements to the services are the extended operating hours of 8:30am-4:30pm, Monday to Friday, with phone lines operating until 7pm.
The Port Moresby centre is located in the Steamship head office building. A second centre will be opened in Lae at the end of October.
Applications will continue to be assessed and decided by the immigration section of the Australian High Commission. Centre staff will have no involvement in decision-making or have any knowledge of the outcome of applications.
Photo: Mr Kemish cuts a ribbon to officially open the new centre. Beside him is Raj Kiran, project manager for the centres in PNG
Source: Australian High Commission
Phil - In the long-running and unsuccessful attempts to get a visa for Mana, a family-member was told (allegedly) that a few hundred kina under the table would fix things. This was from a PNG employee at the Australian High Commission.
Posted by: Peter Kranz | 14 December 2013 at 09:13 AM
We ought to be going to Steamships and other buildings for other things. Not visas.
Visas rings a bell with International Arrivals and Embassy Buildings.
What's new that is cooking now at the Australia-PNG Government gathering in Australia?
Posted by: Corney Korokan Alone | 13 December 2013 at 04:42 PM
How long does it take for a visa to be approved? Also, when three family members lodged their applications together under the same family name, will the visas be approved together or are they done on different days?
We have been waiting for my 16 year old niece's visa to be approved and it is now almost five weeks. The agent who lodged the applications keeps telling us it will be done soon and it is now almost five weeks, the visa has yet to be approved.
Posted by: Gomara Kunia | 13 December 2013 at 04:07 PM
As reported "Applications will continue to be assessed and decided by the immigration section of the Australian High Commission. Centre staff will have no involvement in decision-making or have any knowledge of the outcome of applications"
Lets hope that Mr Kemish's remarks that problems arising from unfair treatment to visa applicants are resolved and future decisions re visa applications are treated objectively and fairly by removing the previous problems arising from cronyism.
.
Posted by: Harry Topham | 29 September 2011 at 07:45 AM
A couple of people in Port Moresby told me on separate occasions that the real problem with a getting a visa to visit Australia are the Papua New Guinea ladies who run the visa office.
Apparently they are bossy and like to lord (lady) it over everyone. The trick to getting a visa quickly is to be a wantok. It is said that they knock back applications on their own personal whims rather than for solid reasons.
If they staff the new office in town or the one coming up in Lae there might not be any improvement at all.
Posted by: Phil Fitzpatrick | 28 September 2011 at 05:59 PM
It appears that the Australian High Commission has a very poor public image in PNG. Not good for PNG/Australia relations!
They seem to have made it very hard for PNG people to visit Australia and they appear to charge them for visa applications and don't return the money when the application is knocked back. Which evidently happens for the slightest issue.
While the streets of Epping and Eastwood teem with Asians, you rarely see a PNG face these days. It's OK to become friends with Asia but we need to remember that we live in the Asia/Pacific Region.
The beautiful Kokoda Memorial Park at Rhodes needs to become a place that all Australians visit, often! I'm teaching my new Korean neighbours about what happened on that track!
God bless PNG!
Posted by: Barbara Short | 28 September 2011 at 10:24 AM
A nice way of saying keep the great unwashed away from our pristine High Com.
Posted by: Daniel Doyle | 28 September 2011 at 09:02 AM