EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Migration Regulations 1994
- This Notice is made under regulation 1.17 and paragraph 676.214(a)of the Migration Regulations 1994 (‘the Regulations’) .
2. Section 1.17 of the Regulations provides that the Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, specify matters required by individual provisions of the Regulations to be specified for the purposes of those provisions.
Clause 676.214 of the Regulations relevantly provides if an application is made by a citizen of the PRC mentioned in subparagraph 1218(1)(b) in Schedule 1, to the Regulations, the applicant must be a resident of an area in PRC specified by Gazette Notice, for the purposes of paragraph 676.214(a).
3. The purpose of the Instrument is to specify provinces and municipalities in the People’s Republic of China for the purpose of the Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme. A Chinese citizen must be a resident of one of the specified provinces or municipalities in order to be eligible to apply for a Tourist visa to travel to Australia as part of an ADS tour group.
4. The instrument operates to facilitate the travel of Chinese tour groups to Australia under the ADS scheme. In order to be eligible to apply for travel to Australia as part of a tour group under the ADS scheme, a Chinese citizen must be a resident of one of the municipalities or provinces listed in the Gazette Notice. A Chinese citizen who is not a resident of one of the municipalities or provinces specified by the Gazette Notice is not eligible to apply for a Tourist visa as part of the ADS scheme.
5. This instrument reflects a technical change to the Regulations and does not substantially alter existing arrangements. As such consultation was unnecessary (paragraph 18(2)(a) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).
6. The instrument commences on 1 July 2005.