Timothy Kane is a senior officer with DFAT and was most recently Chargé d’Affaires at the Australian Embassy in Madrid. He has also previously served as a diplomat in Chile, the US and Mexico.
He spoke to SBS Portuguese about the relationship between Australia and Brazil, and what changes might be on the way for visas between the two countries.
How did you receive the news that Brazil is considering dropping tourist visas for visitors from Australia (and the US, Canada and Japan) to boost its tourism industry? Do you welcome the prospect?
I think it is a great development and we very much welcome it. We had a taste for it during the 2016 Rio Olympics when the same sort of conditions applied, and Australians could enter [the country] visa-free and I think from that experience Brazilians realised it was a terrific boost to its economy.
Brazil issued e-visas to Australia, the US, Canada and Japan last year. Was there an increase of visitors from these countries to Brazil?
We have the e-visas for a little more than 12 months now and Australia played a little bit of a role in helping the Brazilians set up their e-visa system.
What we’ve seen since the e-visa was introduced is quite an increase in the number of tourists from the countries where the e-visa applies.
In 2017 we had about 31,000 Australians visiting Brazil, and that was a quite an increase on the previous year. We expect those numbers to increase going forward.
The Brazilian government says that overall there was a 41% increase of tourists from these four countries coming to Brazil since the introduction of the e-visa system.
Undoubtedly the dropping of the tourist visas for Australians would expect an increase in the number of Australians coming [to Brazil]. It just make it so much easier.
We hope if they do it, and it looks like they will for those four countries, it becomes a permanent arrangement for these countries.
Listen to the complete interview (in English) with Timothy Kane by clicking on the link above.
The plan doesn’t require reciprocity – Australia is not required to drop visas for visitors from Brazil. Will that change? Would Australia consider placing Brazil in the list of countries that don’t require a visa?
We have no plans to change visa requirements or application processes for Brazilians.
Brazilian tourists can request their visas online and it is a very quick process... In 2017/18 we granted over 34,000 visitor entrances to Brazilian nationals.
You mentioned in your last interview to SBS Portuguese that one of your priorities is to add Brazil to (another list) the list of countries that will benefit from Australia’s work and holiday visa program, like Portugal. Is there any progress on this?
Since we last spoken, we have been pushing it quite actively through the Brazilian government and we are making progress. These things do take time.
We have increased the number of places available in very similar programs in other Latin American countries, such as Chile, Argentina and Peru.
It's very important for us to get the work and holiday program in place for Brazil.
At the moment, the ball is in the Brazilian court and we encourage them to get this done as quickly as possible because we consider this to be of benefit not only to young Brazilians but to Australians coming to Brazil.
I think it is high time to have this [Work and Holiday program] agreement with Brazil.
What does the Brazilian government need to do?
It is a reciprocal arrangement by us allowing young Brazilians to work and holiday in Australia. The Brazilian government would need to allow the same number of Australians to be eligible to come and work and holiday in Brazil.
The Brazilians need to be comfortable with that... It's very important is to have the framework in place and then decide on the number of young people who will work and holiday in both countries.
But if the program goes well, we can look at increasing the numbers as we did with Chile and Spain.
Work and Holiday Visa: Australia increases places for Peru, Spain and Israel
The number of places available to Peruvian nationals under the Work and Holiday Maker Program (subclass 462) has increased from 100 places per year to 1,500.
The number of places available to Spanish nationals increased from 1,500 per year to 3,400 and to Israeli nationals from 500 per year to 2,500.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman said the increase in the number of places available is part of a range of measures to support farmers fill critical work shortages.
“While on their first visa, both Spanish, Israeli and Peruvian nationals may undertake specified work in regional areas to become eligible for a second Work and Holiday visa and extend their stay. From 1 July 2019, the option of a third year stay will also be available to them if they undertake six months of regional work in their second year in Australia.”
Australia’s Work and Holiday Maker Program currently has arrangements in place with 42 countries.
The Government is currently in discussions with a further 10 countries to grow the program.
