This information is provided on the Department of Immigration website.

The number of subclass 457 primary visa applications lodged from July to end December 2011 was 36.7 per cent higher than the same period last program year.

The number of subclass 457 primary visas granted from July to end December 2011 was 50.7 per cent higher than the same period last year.

The number of primary visa holders in Australia at 31 December 2011 was 68 320 and reflected an increase of 14.5 per cent in comparison with the same in the previous year.

Offshore primary visa lodgements from July to end December 2011 were 43.4 per cent higher than the same period last program year, reflecting a continued strong employer demand for temporary skilled workers.

457 Visa application trends

The number of subclass 457 primary visa applications lodged from July to end December 2011 was 36.7 per cent higher than the same period last program year. Although application lodgements tend to ease in December due to the holiday season, the number of primary applications lodged in December 2011 was still 20.9 per cent higher than that in December 2010.

From July to end December 2011, primary applications offshore were 43.4 per cent higher than the same period last program year. Primary applications offshore for December 2011 were 19.2 per cent higher than in December 2010. Offshore primary applicants reflect new additions to the Australian labour market.

From July to end December 2011, primary applications onshore were 28.3 per cent higher than the same period last program year. Primary applications onshore for December 2011 were 23.1 per cent higher than in December 2010.

The number of ANZSCO Major Group 1 to 2 (Managers and Professionals) primary applications lodged from July to end December 2011 was 23.1 per cent higher than the same period last program year. During the same period, the number of ANZSCO Major Group 3 (Technicians and Trades workers) primary applications increased by 81.3 per cent.

457 Visa grant trends

The number of subclass 457 primary visas granted from July to end December 2011 was 50.7 per cent higher than the same period last program year. The number of primary visas granted in December 2011 was 44.5 per cent higher than in December 2010.

From July to end December 2011, offshore 457 primary visa grants were 55.7 per cent higher than the same period last program year. Compared with December 2010, the number of 457 offshore primary visa grants was 48.7 per cent higher in December 2011.

From July to end December 2011, 457 onshore primary visa grants were 43.8 per cent higher than the same period last program year. The number of onshore 457 primary visa grants in December 2011 was 39.4 per cent higher than in December 2010.

In the year to end December 2011, 71.6 per cent of 457 primary visa grants were to Managers and Professionals and 22.0 per cent were to Technicians and Trades Workers.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has reported an annual growth of 8.3 percent in Australia’s working holiday visa program on December 19, 2011.

Compared with the 2009/10 year, the number of Australian visa grants for working holiday makers rose by 10,000 in the 2010/2011 program year.

Contributing to the rise were Irish nationals, who were granted 87.4 percent more working holiday visas than the previous year, followed by Taiwanese with an increase of 41 percent.

In the past migration program year, the UK represented 21 percent of the total number of working holiday visas granted, followed by South Korea with 16.5 percent and Ireland and Germany behind them.

Furthermore, according to Statistics New Zealand, also the number of New Zealanders arriving in Australia this year has incredibly grown.

The statistics also revealed nearly 1000 New Zealanders a week made a one-way trip across the ditch this year, with 50,115 New Zealander choosing to live in Australia on a permanent or long-term basis in the year to November.

New Zealanders are lured to Australia by better job opportunities, where Australian recruiters offer large pay cheques in industries such as mining and farming to attract migrants.

Even Greeks are flocking to Australia to find a better life for themselves as economic turmoil continues in their home country.

Community leaders in suburban Melbourne have received thousands of letters, emails and telephone calls from Greek nationals, especially highly skilled and educated workers, desperate to migrate to Australia.

They’re all university graduates, engineers, architects, mechanics, teachers, bankers who will do anything for work,” says Bill Papastergiades, the community’s lawyer president.

“It’s desperate stuff. We’re all aghast. Often they’ll just turn up with a bag. Their stories are heartbreaking and on every plane there are more,” he added. Greek nationals have been arranged in Australian houses, five or six of them at a time.

During 2011, about 2,500 Greek citizens have moved to Australia while officials in Athens say another 40,000 have also “expressed interest” in settling in Australia.

Greece is experiencing an 18-percent unemployment rate and is facing a fifth year of recession while the Australian economy is predicted to grow 4 percent in 2012.

Australia is a popular destination for Greeks because of its substantial Hellenic population. Melbourne is considered to be the largest Greek city in the world outside of Greece. In the first six months this year, 134 permanent Australian visas were granted to Greeks, all but 15 of which were family visas. In the same year, 102 temporary student visas were granted to Greek nationals.

Right now we are much in favor of onshore applications. Particularly aimed at those who are onshore holding 457 visas. The bulk of our work is now coming from 457 visa holders seeking to get permanent residency via the ENS (Employer Nominated Sponsorship) Scheme.

If you are currently on a 457 temporary visa submit your inquiry to us via our website and we will let you know if you are eligible for permanent residency via the Employer Nominated Sponsorship Scheme.

AUSTRALIAN VISA EXPERTS

Have you heard the news? It is now constant. There are skill shortages in Australia and the problem is getting worse due to three main factors -

1. The mining boom
2. Bad government policy in 2010 to reduce migration intake
3. The recent floods and natural disasters in Queensland. They now are committing over 5 billion dollars to help re-build large parts of the State and they ARE SHORT OF THE SKILLED LABOR THEY NEED TO DO THIS.

If you have the right sort of skills and qualifications THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY AND GET IN THE DOOR with either a temporary or permanent working visa.

Go to our home page and following the guidelines to get your enquiry into to us for assessment.
Australian Visa Experts.

While immigration drops, businesses are crying out for more staff

AUSTRALIA’S rate of immigration is tumbling already. An issue of bipartisan concern during the election campaign, the latest figures show net migration falling sharply with the number of permanent and long-term arrivals outnumbering departures by only 210,400 in the year to October, well down on the 324,700 a year before.

A rolling annual graph shows the rate continuing to plunge, as increasing numbers of Australians head overseas and fewer immigrants arrive.

In October, just 9370 overseas arrivals settled on Australian shores, the lowest total since March 2004.

Although it accords with the Prime Minister’s expressed desire during the campaign for ”a sustainable Australia, not a big Australia”, the slowdown has ominous portents for Australia’s economic boom.

”Businesses are shaking their heads,” said a Commonwealth Securities economist, Craig James. ”Job markets are tight, with not enough local talent to fill positions. But while companies are crying out for staff, migrant numbers are plunging.

”Over the past year, the annual number of migrants has plunged by a record 35 per cent, robbing the economy of momentum at an important time.

”It is in the interests of all Australians to have a balanced job market. The last thing anyone wants to see is the Reserve Bank keeping interest rates at higher levels than they should be because restrictions on migrant inflows are pushing up wages and prices.”

Separately released job advertisement data shows that ads were up 2.9 per cent in November as firms struggled to get staff. Newspaper job advertisements rebounded 0.9 per cent after slipping for two months.

The ANZ Bank says its count of advertisements points to a further jump in employment of 20,000 when the November figures are released today, pushing the unemployment rate down from 5.4 to 5.2 per cent.

But it warns the job figures will ”effectively cover hiring decisions made prior to the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate increase”.

”Given anecdotal reports of more moderate consumer behaviour since, it is reasonable to expect some moderation in the rate of growth of labour demand in the months ahead,” said an economist, Ivan Colhoun.

The high dollar and cheap airfares pushed Australian short-term departures to a record high of 7 million trips in the year to October. During that month we left the country around 600,000 times, up 15 per cent on the previous October.

Tourist arrivals have continued to increase, despite the dollar climbing 5 per cent in the year to October. New Zealand and Britain were the biggest source of tourists followed by the US, China and Japan.