Hacker News Reader

Comment by Ice_cream_suit | Hacker News Reader

Australia had a notorious "dictation test" that was used to weed out non-white immigrants.

"Under the Immgration Act, migrants who entered Australia between 1901 and 1958 could be asked to take a dictation test.

To pass the test, they needed to write 50 words in any European language, as dictated by an immigration officer. After 1905, the officer could choose any language at all. A Chinese immigrant, for example, could be asked to write out 50 words in French, Italian or another language.

Few migrants could pass the test in these circumstances. This meant that it was easy to fail an applicant if they were from an ‘undesirable’ country, had a criminal record, had medical issues or were thought to be ‘morally unfit’.

If an applicant failed the test, they could be deported by the Australian Government."

https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/immigration-and-ci...

View on HN

This still exists officially btw, migrants need to be at a certain level in IELTS and have no criminal records to get a migrant visa. And if you get any criminal conviction during the visa, you can get deported or be blacklisted from getting citizenship down the line.

IELTS is justifiable, as (British) English is Australia's official language. Any other European language is just them screwing with the immigrants.

An English language test and what the white Australia policy did are not the same thing.

Basically everything you've stated is just called immigration policy.

I personally think we're too hard on skilled migrants and too lenient on relationship visas. But I'm sure I don't have a properly informed opinion, just a hunch based on my experiences.

> we're too hard on skilled migrants and too lenient on relationship visas

"Funny", I'm a skilled immigrant with multiple friends whose marriage was torn apart by European immigration bureaucrats deciding theirs was fake, which if you see it play out in real life even once feels unnecessarily cruel beyond comparison, so I'm really wondering what kind of "experiences" you base your hunch on.

Can't speak for the European experience, only the Australian one.

Have had friends struggle on skilled visas, whilst relationship visas with no schooling or skills all get approved with minimal fuss. My preference would be to make skilled migration easier.

Would have thought from a nation standpoint we'd want to attract talent.

I wonder how they handle criminal records from obviously totalitarian countries.

Charges of sedition, vandalism or corruption are a favorite tactics against dissenters.

There was a famous German Jewish Socialist journalist from Prague, Egon Erwin Kisch, who was barred from Australia when they asked him to write a dictate in Scottish Gaelic.

It led to an outcry and the policy was modified.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com