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Immigration In Australia – Today

The levels of Immigration in Australia have, over the past 15 years, increased dramatically. Did you know that, for example, the number of migrants who successfully immigrated to Australia in the years of 92 and 93 was around thirty thousand, whereas more recently in the years of 2006 and 2007, this number has increased to almost two hundred thousand? That is an increase of seven hundred percent! It is not anticipated that the rate of increase will slow down either – it is anticipated that another three hundred thousand immigrants will have joined us here by the end of 2009.

With sunny weather, friendly people, and abounding opportunities, it is no surprise that Australia is and always has been a popular destination for migrants and the proliferation of Immigration in Australia stands as a testament to this. A large part of Australian history is based on Immigration in Australia, and it is no huge stretch to make the assumption that it will still be in the future.

Most of the time, the first visa anyone will see Australia on is a temporary visa. This could be a tourist visa, simply for the purpose of checking out the country for a couple of months, or a working holiday visa, which allows the holder to live and work in Australia on a restricted basis for a period of 12 months. It is also possible to gain temporary entry into the country on an Australian student visa, which can allow you to stay for a longer period of time in order to study. So how do people move on to more permanent categories of visa?

Moving From Temporary To Permanent
For the purpose of this section, let us look at the situation of a non-Australian who has been studying in Australia on an Australian student visa. They are restricted in the amount of work they can do in order to earn money, and they are not entitled to social benefits. They have just finished a course and have graduated. But will they want to come home? University is a formative experience in anybodys life, and it is not a massive leap if one were to suggest that maybe the student may not want to leave what has become their home, their friends, and their life in Australia.

There is a solution! If the student has been studying in an area or trade in which Australia has a lack of skilled individuals, the student may be able to apply for a skilled migration visa, which will allow them a much more permanent type of residency then their Australian student visa, with a lot more freedom for employment and a lot more chance of eventually attaining permanent residency. The skilled migrant visa has been a clever development on Australias part – by encouraging workers who are trained in occupations in which Australia does not have enough skilled individuals, they are making sure that migrants will be contributing to the productivity of the nation as a whole – for example, if a hairdresser applied at a time when there were not enough qualified hairdressers in Australia, their application would likely be approved.

As mentioned previously, the skilled migrant visa is a window to a world of even more permanent visas. The three years one is entitled to stay in Australia on a skilled migrant visa can be used to count towards the total number of years it is necessary to have lived in Australia in order to be eligible for permanent residency, and to enjoy all of the social benefits and rights which come along with this.

New Wave Or Constant Tide?
The number of immigrants to Australia has been steadily increasing over the last fifteen years. The quantity of immigrants from New Zealand and the United Kingdom has been steadily increasing, along with the amounts of migrants from formerly eastern block countries – as these countries became more developed, more people found themselves in a position to contemplate such a big move. There is a new wave of migrants to Australia every year, but this is more of a continuation of a larger phenomenon than a phenomenon in itself.

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