Australia warns illegal Sri Lankan immigrants

Australia has returned more than 250 illegal Sri Lankan immigrants since August, a senior immigration official said on Monday, as he sought to dissuade others from attempting the perilous journey.

Speaking during a trip to the Sri Lankan capital, Australia's regional director for immigration Jose Alvarez said his office had noticed a rise in illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka and was taking a hard line.

"Those people without a valid visa and no claim that engages Australia's international obligations will be quickly returned to Sri Lanka," Alvarez told reporters in Colombo.

He said 257 Sri Lankans had been returned since August 13.

Australia's parliament in August passed a law aimed at deterring would-be migrants. Asylum-seekers who arrive by boat are now transferred to holding centres on remote Pacific islands where their application is processed.

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested more than 1,200 people trying to leave the island illegally this year.

Many of those who make the journey pay up to $3,000 for a place on trawlers run by people-smugglers.

Some of those sent back from Australia voluntarily have said they were paid up to $3,600 to help "re-integrate" in society.

However, Alvarez said there would be no such assistance for those caught by immigration authorities and returned "involuntarily".

 

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