Hels

A bit of interesting reading for those who are interested....


Poms, Yanks worst illegal immigrants
January 20, 2005 - 6:19PM

Afghan and Iranian boat people create headlines but it's the Poms and Yanks who make up the majority of Australia's illegal immigrants.

There were more than 10,000 illegal British and American immigrants in Australia on June 30, 2004, making up about a fifth of all people who overstayed their visas and remained in the country unlawfully.

Another 3,900 Chinese illegal immigrants remained in Australia last year, along with 3,000 Indonesians and 2,800 South Koreans.

Afghans don't rate a mention while there were less than 200 illegal Iranians in Australia in June.

The new figures on illegal immigration were revealed in a report on immigration trends released by Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone.

The report said that while visitors from the United Kingdom and the United States accounted for the highest number of visa overstayers, they were rated as low risk because the number was small as a percentage of the total number of Britons and Americans entering the country.

Around 15,000 illegal immigrants had been in the country for more than 10 years but many of the 51,000 unlawful visitors only stayed for a few days after their visa expired.

"Many people who are recorded as overstayers are simply extending a short stay in Australia by a few days or weeks and leave of their own accord within a short period," the report said.

Australia's population reached 20.1 million at the end of June last year.

The population growth in the 12 months to June 2004 was made up of 121,000 so-called natural increases - births less deaths - and 117,600 in net overseas migration.

Most migrants continue to come from the UK, followed by New Zealand.

The brain drain once again affected Australia, with the country losing almost 29,000 skilled workers - most of whom were young - through permanent emigration last year.

However, more than 44,000 skilled workers settled in Australia.

In total, 59,078 people left Australia permanently in 2003-04, the highest ever number.

The report found a quarter of Australia's workforce was born overseas, with computer professionals, accountants and managers/administrators the top three occupations of migrants prior to coming to Australia.

Humanitarian visas were granted to 788 people already in Australia last year, down from 897 the previous year.

The proportion of migrants settling in NSW was at it lowest level since 1983-84 as a result of a regional migration initiative.

Senator Vanstone said students and skilled workers were driving the change in Australia's migration intake.

"In the case of students, in 2001 the government changed the rules to allow overseas students in Australia to be able to apply to stay permanently as skilled migrants at the end of their studies," she said.

The report predicted Australia's population would swell to around 26 million to 27 million by the middle of this century.


www.theage.com.au

mlbonner

Nope, sorry Hels... no reaction at all

Hels

Wench!!!

JerrySpringer

Oh the irony of it......

mlbonner

Now, now, thats just not friendly

bondipom

I knew 2 overstayers but both returned. Both came on WHVs and returned on ETAs but carried on using their TFNs. One worked for SOCOG followed by a government agency. He was made permanent by the government agency. Eventually living a lie got the better of him and he returned to the UK. The other one got locked up and deported from Perth after getting caught running a premium rate immigration fax advice service for backpackers. The idiot was asking to get caught running that.

In the UK I met a few Aussie overstayers. Very few stick to the work terms of their visa and often work for the same company for the 2 years. A lot of WHVers in Oz work for the same company for more than 3 months.

Oz needs British and American tourist dollars and is unwilling to jeapardise that for a couple of headlines.

Jimbo9

Ruddock launches crackdown on ‘unwelcome’ plane people


http://www.chaser.com.au/show_story....ME=planepeople

Hels

LMAO...

I about fell off the sofa laughing at that last line in that story...