Irish labourers in Western Australia may see 3 year passport ban

As reported by Inside Ireland, due to sham employers, many Irish labourers in Western Australia may have received false migration advice, which may trigger a passport ban lasting up to three years. Western Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship is reportedly investigating allegations into a construction company providing false migration guidance to its international labourers.

Leading visa experts at VisaFirst.com claim that workers were told to apply for short-stay tourist and business visas, even though that visa was strictly meant for tourists and business people travelling for conferences. Immigration officials are now clamping down, says Edwina Shanahan, who is Manager at VisaFirst.com. The data reveal there are several thousand Irish workers in Australia’s construction industry. It is seen as unlikely that huge volumes of crane operators and construction labourers would be visiting Australia to attend conferences.

Workers were allegedly instructed to claim they were planning on staying in the country for three months or less, which is the maximum stay allowed on this visa; travellers were also instructed to say they were not coming to Australia to seek work. Large employers found to be illegally hiring people may face a fine of €5-10k, which is unlikely to make a large impact on their business. However, Irish workers may not understand that their punishment may be much more severe, including three year a ban on their passport which may last up to three years, says Shanahan.

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