With the world evolving and job opportunities widening, people have seldom remained in their city of origin. The International Organisation for Migration reports that ‘66 Million Adults or 1.3% of the world’s adult population, had plans to move permanently to another country in the next 12 months in 2015.’
Migration patterns offer an insight into how and why such people move countries. Statistics provide that 258 million international migrants were counted globally in 2017 as residing in a country that was not their country of birth. This means approximately 3.5% of the world’s population was or is currently a migrant.
Migration trends have blossomed to provide international opportunities, especially in Australia, as visa applications have evolved and have become easier to obtain. Below are listed the three main visa types that migrants apply for (which follow the migration trends this year) and why you need to follow these trends.
1. Student Visas
In this day and age, the opportunity for university students is endless. Accordingly, educational institutions encourage diversification by offering students exchange and study abroad programmes.
According to the legal experts at Drink Driving Defence Sydney, “the application for Australian student visas has seen a rise in popularity as this provides international students with the opportunity to widen their horizons by living and studying in Australia.”
A student visa is temporary, limited to 5 years, although has the possibility of extension depending on the type of course you choose and further allows you to work up to 40 hours in a fortnight.
Flexibility is this visa’s main appeal but it has other perks such as bringing family members (partner or children) over during your time in Australia. International study programmes will continue to be popular and the Australian Government records that close to 900,000 international students were residing in Australia in 2018. This student visa is the best way to seize the opportunity of temporarily studying and living in Australia.
2. Working Holiday Visas
If you are not a student the second migration trend that people follow is that they love to travel for pleasure whilst financing their trip by working. With a work holiday visa, individuals are given the chance to garner a fresh experience internationally whilst still having an income.
Explaining the process for working holiday visas, the migration specialists at All Skills note, “the working holiday visa is broken down into 3 categories – the first, second and third visa. As a result of recent changes to working holiday visas, starting July 1st, 2019, there are now opportunities for third visas to be obtained pending certain criteria are met, for example regional work. This provides a valuable opportunity for young people to live and work in Australia across a longer period of time.”
More recently, once such working holiday visas have lapsed, people tend to apply for student visas or skilled work visas to remain in Australia.
3. Skilled Visas
As of 2015, there were an estimated 150.3 million labour migrants around the world. It is generally known that working and labour conditions in various third world countries are poor. As such, even if individuals have proper qualifications their chance for concrete jobs is limited.
In Australia, the skilled work visa aims to provide qualified individuals with the opportunity to put their skills to work. This is the strongest form of visa as it allows for permanent residency in Australia upon satisfaction of certain criteria. This visa notably requires a specific invitation to be granted entrance into Australia. You also need to pass an English proficiency exam, be under the age of 45 and have a relevant occupation that is applicable to work in Australia.
Due to these requirements, this visa is typically the best way to garner Australian citizenship and has similar perks of bringing over family members. As this skilled visa branches into other various subclasses, it is important to explicitly examine the requirements to see if you are eligible. The information on these subclasses may be viewed on the AllSkills website.
In a similar vein of reasoning, many migrants are cognisant of shortages and deficits in their domestic workforce. Similar to the invitation of a skilled visa, sponsorship visas allow for an employer to sponsor a suitable international candidate to fill a position that cannot be completed by a domestic worker. This can be on a temporary or permanent basis. As more and more people seek refuge in international countries, the criterion for visa applications has become more stringent. Due to this, skilled and sponsorship visas are on the rise as a way to distinguish the qualities of international applicants.
Why You Should Consider Migration
External migration is encouraged to better your life. However, it is important to realize the difficulties that come with migration.
People must assess economic migration to determine whether living in a new country is affordable and sustainable. According to Joanne Antoun, a specialist in human behaviour and motivation, “typically, people opt for first world countries where there is greater opportunity for living but there still remains concerns about housing, poverty, prosperity, assimilation, etc. This is why options such as student visas or temporary working visas are a great chance to have a taste as to what it would be like living, working or studying in Australia.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that ‘28.2% of Australia’s resident population was born overseas’, with migration now centrally revolving around student and skilled work migration. Even though there is an allotted amount of visa applicants per year, the Australian Government encourages multiculturalisation as migration has a two-pronged benefit on the Australian society as well as individual diversification. With the range of options available to international applicants, migration will leave an everlasting impression and certainly change your life.
So, if you feel a pull towards Australia, seize the opportunity and consider external migration today with our help at AllSkills.com.au.
AUTHOR BIO:
Lucas Jones is an Australian writer and uni student living in Melbourne. He is passionate about technology and the latest innovations. Lucas also has a love for animal welfare, regularly taking breaks from work to volunteer with the local pet rescue.