Skilled workers lead overseas migration to ACT
Thursday, 27 March 2008
A new publication shows the increasing importance of skilled migrants in the growth of the population of the ACT, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said today.
The 2008 edition of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship publication Population Flows: Immigration Aspects shows permanent additions through Australia’s skill stream accounted for 53.3 per cent of overseas entrants to the ACT in 2006–07.
‘The top occupations of skilled arrivals in the year included accountants, computing professionals, registered nurses, and university lecturers,’ Senator Evans said.
‘More than 19 per cent of these arrivals were born in China, almost 15 per cent in India, almost 12 per cent in the United Kingdom, and more than 4 per cent in Korea.
‘The UK remains the most common birthplace of all overseas settlers in the ACT, accounting for 22.9 per cent of those born overseas.
‘New Zealand, China, India, Vietnam and Germany are the next largest birthplace groups.
Population Flows: Immigration Aspects shows that China was the most common birthplace among the total of 2763 overseas permanent additions arriving in the ACT in 2006-07.
Other common birthplaces of arrivals in the year included India (302 people), the UK (283), New Zealand (123) and the Philippines (107).
Senator Evans said the ACT had received 1000 permanent additions through Australia’s family immigration stream in 2006–07. He said 12.7 per cent of these people were born in China and 10 per cent in the UK.
Over half the migrants in the family stream – 533 people – entered as spouses. A further 85 overseas migrants came to the ACT as fiancés in 2006-07.
The territory received 116 arrivals under Australia’s humanitarian program in the year from countries including Sudan and Iraq.
Senator Evans said that the ACT attracted 31 000 overseas visitors in the year who nominated it as their may place of stay in Australia, a 3.6 per cent increase on 2005–06.
Population Flows: Immigration Aspects is available online.
See: www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/media/media-releases/2008/ce08029-1.htm
Last update: 13 August 2008 at 17:14 AEST