A skilled foreigner holding a working visa could be in breach of their conditions if they’re found to be working in a city or state not linked to their permit, immigration agent Juan Rincon told SBS Spanish.
Mr Rincon said the Australian government could go as far as cancelling a visa over this breach, but the action taken could differ depending on the type of visa they hold.
He compared the and
The Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) allows qualified foreign workers, who are nominated by the government of a state or territory, to live and work in Australia as a permanent resident.
In this case, Mr Rincon explained that the “obligation generated by the 190 visa with respect to the nominating state is not technically a condition of the visa", so an exit from the specified city or state does not mean that the holder was “not fulfilling the visa” obligation.
Despite this, he said the state could begin a cancellation process by alleging that the holder had been deceptive and had no legitimate intention to live in the place nominated by the state or territory.
Mr Rincon said the Skilled Nominated visa required a "clear and absolute" commitment by the holder to live in that jurisdiction for two years.
"If this requirement is not met, the state could begin a cancellation process due to the lack of legitimacy or deception at the time of requesting the immigration process, that could happen," he said.
In the event of cancellation, a holder would be deemed an unlawful non-citizen and would have to leave the country within 28 days or face immigration detention.
The Skilled Regional Provisional visa (subclass 489) is a temporary visa which allows the qualified foreign worker to live and work in a regional centre with a low population for up to four years.
Mr Rincon said cancellation would be almost certain if the holder of a subclass 489 visa were to leave the city or region linked to his permit for work, due to the provisional nature of the permit.
"There is a section of the , which says that when a person has a visa subject to conditions and fails to comply with these cancellations is subject to cancellation of the visa,” he said.
Law lecturer at Western Sydney University Jason Donnelly said authorities faced challanges in regulating visa holders in regional areas.
“The department would have to rely upon the information provided by the non-citizen and the non-citizen’s employer in a particular area,” he told SBS Spanish.
“If they don’t in good faith, it’s obviously hard to regulate because although you might have immigration agents from the Australian Border Force checking out non-citizens. It’s not always easy to go up to these metropolitan areas. It’s not easy.”
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