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5,000 Irish granted Australian
'green cards'
05.08.14
SOME 5,000 skilled
Irish people were granted permanent residency in
Australia last year, latest figures show.
They include about 1,650 family members who were
allowed to accompany loved ones Down Under.
A report from Australia's Department of Immigration
shows that there were some 4784 Irish-born permanent
additions to the Australian resident population in
2012-2013.
This represented a slight increase on the year
before but a significant jump since 2009-2010 when
just over 3,000 permanent visas were granted.
Workers most commonly granted permanent visas
included civil engineers (100); accountants (100);
carpenters/joiners (60); electricians (50) and
registered nurses (50). Other popular professions
included computer programmers (30); GPs (30) and
systems analysts (20).
A further 10,290 skilled people were granted
temporary work visas in Australia last year.
The report shows that New South Wales and Western
Australia were the most popular destinations for
Irish people.
Meanwhile, it reveals that fewer young Irish people
are applying for working holiday visas.
Last year, 11,817 first-time working holiday visas
in Australia were issued to Irish nationals compared
to 19,492 granted in 2011–2012 - a 39 per cent drop.
And more than 500 Irish-born permanent residents
left Australia for good last year. More than half
indicated they were returning home to Ireland.
Almost one-third of returnees were professionals
while a further 14 per cent were managers.
"Australia’s favourable economic conditions have
encouraged a greater share of Irish migration since
the global financial crisis, with Australia becoming
the third most popular country for permanent Irish
migrants after the United Kingdom and United States
of America in 2010," the report's authors noted.
"Economic incentives have been a main driver for
Irish emigrants with…a doubling in the number of
skilled migrants since 2009–2010." |
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