The Irish are still flocking to Australia and Australia is welcoming them, with close to 5,000 skilled Irish workers granted permanent residency in 2013.
New figures from Australia’s Department of Immigration show that 4,784 Irish-born people became permanent residents of Australia from 2013 – 2014, the Irish Examiner reports. This includes nearly 1,650 Irish who were eligible to move to Australia with family members re-locating for work.
The most popular professions among the permanent visa recipients included civil engineers, accountants, carpenters/joiners, electricians and registered nurses.
The total marks a modest increase from 2012 and a vast uptick from 2009 – 2010, when 3,000 Irish workers received permanent residency.
The report notes that Australia is the third-most popular country for Irish permanent migrants, after the UK and the US.
At the same time, it also notes that over 500 Irish-born permanent residents departed Australia in 2013, with half planning to return to Ireland.
The total population of Irish-born people living in Australia reached 90,000 in 2012. The locations with the greatest concentration of Irish workers are Western Australia and New South Wales.
The country granted 10,290 temporary work visas to Irish nationals in 2013, and 11,817 first-time working holiday visas – a 39% decrease from the 19,492 working holiday visas issues to the Irish in 2011.
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