PNG - Australia Online VISA efforts commended

PAPUA New Guinea’s effort in streamlining online visa application processes between Australia has been commended at the Australia PNG Ministerial Forum last Friday.

PNG and Australian Ministers participated in the forum which convened on Friday where participating Australian Ministers included Senator the Marise Payne, Minister for Defence, Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Craig Laundy, Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation, and Alex Hawke, Assistant Minister for Home Affairs. Participating Papua New Guinean Ministers included Solan Mirisim, Minister for Defence, Justin Tkatchenko, Minister for Lands, Physical Planning and APEC Petrus Thomas MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Security, and Jelta Wong MP, Minister for Police

They spoke on the Border management, immigration and people-to-people links which they signed in a communiqué.

“Ministers noted ongoing efforts to facilitate travel for Papua New Guinean citizens, and welcomed progress made through the Joint Technical Working Group on Travel Facilitation, especially in the area of streamlining online visa application processes, and the forthcoming Australia-Papua New Guinea Immigration Forum later in 2018. Ministers agreed that officials would commence discussions to consider cooperation to develop Papua New Guinea’s biometrics capability,” the communiqué stated.

“Ministers noted Papua New Guinea’s desire to improve processes to obtain Australian visas in order for Papua New Guinean citizens to take full advantage of the opportunities in Australia in terms of education and training, business, exports, employment, sports development, cultural exchanges, and people to people links. Press Release