CEBU CITY, Philippines — As countries like Australia and Canada open their governments to welcome more foreign immigrants, the number of Filipinos applying for an immigrant status to these nations have significantly increased.

“The demand to migrate has been significantly increasing. Since the United States become more rigorous in their migration rules, more Filipinos are turning to Australia and Canada to either study or migrate there for good,” said Marlon Tanilon, managing director of Big Start Travel and Visa Assistance (Big Start), a visa processing and migration consultancy firm.

Tanilon noted an average of 30 immigration applications per month to countries like Canada and Australia, and New Zealand. Of these applications, about 28 have been approved, he said.

“Our 95 percent success rate is because initially at the assessment stage, we are honest of the applicant’s chance to get an approved visa,” he explained, adding that an applicant seeking for an immigrant visa has to first undergo three stages assessment, orientation and processing of the application.

Big Start, which established operations in February 2007, currently provides permanent visa assistance through skilled immigration programs of Canada, New Zealand and Australia’s skilled immigration programs. They also process fiancée visas, tourist and transit visas.

Tanilon said that Australia, Canada and New Zealand are the top countries of choice for immigration applications among Filipinos because of their booming economies. “The economic boom of these countries is fueled by the immigrants,” he said.

According to Tanilon, the overseas migration movements by Filipinos are almost always economic in nature, whether the movement is for overseas work or permanent settlement.

“More often than not, the purpose for the growing immigration application abroad is to seek greener pastures or to reunite with their family members who are permanent residents in these countries,” he said in an interview with Manila Bulletin recently.

Tanilon revealed that the cost incurred in applying for an immigrant to Canada is approximately P30,000 to P40,000 per applicant, while that of Australia costs only P95,000 per family.

In the case of Australia, however, he said that most Filipinos apply for a student visa to enroll for short-term courses where they also get to work an average of 20 hours per week.

BigStart is currently partnering with academic institutions in Australia to assist Filipino students in attaining a student visa to study medical and English courses.

“We can help student applicants who want to get student visas for Australian universities and vocational schools. Our pep talk intends to arm the Filipino people with enough knowledge so that they will not be-come a victim of false hope,” Tanilon said.

Earlier, the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith said that in 2012 Australian student visas will be released at a much faster pace with the introduction of a streamlined processing. Once issued, the student, regardless of his or her country of origin shall be treated as low risk visitors. This therefore reduces the volume of documentary evidence that they must present to consular officers.