AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

DIAC report shows increase in immigration

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

DIACs 2007-2008 Annual Report shows the number of people entering Australia both permanently and temporarily continued to increase during the 2007-2008 period.

Figures show that in 2007-08, the Department issued 108,542 skill stream visas compared to 97,940 in 2006-07. Regional migration and state-specific initiatives now account for 24% of the skill streamed visas, where the Australian Government works with local state/territory governments to encourage both Australian employers and overseas applicants to use these programmes to fill key shortages in key areas.

In the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Programme, the largest source country for migrants was India, accounting for 22% of the skilled migrant population inflow for the period, followed by the United Kingdom on 18%, and the People’s Republic of China at 13%. Other countries that contributed significantly are Malaysia, Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

The Employer-Sponsored programmes include the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS), and the Labour Agreement (LA) programme. For the 2007-08 programme, the Department granted 23,760 visas, which was a 42.3 per cent increase from the 2006-07 period. The report states that the main occupation sought through these employer sponsored programmes was a registered nurse, with the major source countries being India, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

If you are interested in Visas to Australia, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to Australia.