Foreigners interested in buying property in Australia will need to ensure they have a physical visa stamp in their passport to show real estate agents, rather than relying on the new electronic visa system.
This is the advice issued by a spokesman for KPMG, which has recently released a new guide to the updated visa charging system that comes into effect on January 1st 2013.
The spokesman says that having a physical visa stamp can help avoid confusion in situations such as applying for a lease on a property or enrolling children in schools, as the concept of electric visas is "not always understood".
New prices for visa applications are set to include an increase of $105 in the cost of a temporary skilled worker visa application, while skilled graduate visa applications will rocket in price from $315 to $1,250.
While all electronically-issued visas will be validated by an email from the immigration department, the KPMG report suggests it might be worth paying the extra $70 charge for a physical visa label, as it may come in handy in certain situations.
