World Cup cricket fever has fueled a surge in Indian applications for an Australian visa during January, said Australian High Commissioner Patrick Suckling.
He revealed more than 12,000 visa applications were received last month, a jump of 50% compared to the same period last year.
We have thousands and thousands of Indians travelling to Australia and for the ICC World Cup we are seeing a huge interest, huge demand. In January alone, more than 12,000 Indians applied for the visa, which is 50% more than last year and we have a got a lot of applications coming in every day," Suckling said.
The competition started this weekend and joint visas for co-hosts Australia and New Zealand are being offered for travel until April 5.
New Zealand High Commissioner for India Grahame Morton said he expects about 10,000 Indians to cross the Tasman to watch the two matches involving India in New Zealand.
