Australia is one of the major countries people go to in order to start a new life. Since the country’s economy is strong, immigration to Australia is most suitable for skilled people. There are more than one hundred thousand jobs available in Australia. The Australian immigration programme attracts people from a variety of backgrounds, ages and qualifications, but it emphasises on bringing in people who can offer substantial positive change in the economy. Some of the qualifications that a person should have are that they should not be above 45 years; they should speak good English and be qualified in at least one profession.

Skilled people considering emigrating to Australia are assessed in certain areas such as work experience, qualifications and language proficiency. Those who are willing to live there permanently can do so if they live in a particular region of Australia. Australia also accepts migrants who want to live with their relatives and this is done through the Family Stream Migration programme. Australia also welcomes refugees through the Humanitarian Programme.

However, immigration to Australia is not as easy as one would think, since the Australian Immigration Service usually places strict controls on the number of people emigrating to Australia. Actually, last year saw over 150,000 people being turned down. There are a number of visas to Australia offered that are available in the global market, such as the family visas that are applied based on family ties, spouse visas if one is willing for their spouse or unmarried partner to join them in the country and many more.

According to statistics provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics or ABS, migration to South Australia continues to grow over the years. Looking at the figures for the year 2007, there was a recorded increase of 12,600 people due to net overseas migration to the Australian state. About one third of that figure, 4,800 migrants, entered South Australia in the first quarter of 2007. This has been the largest quarterly gain that the Australian government has ever experienced in the last 25 years.

As they closely monitor the growth of immigration and population of the country, they have noted that every quarter increase they have recorded since 1986, has greatly contributed to the resident population of South Australia. There was an exception during between June 1993 and June 1994.

This increase in immigrants and growth in the population is being enjoyed by the state as South Australia has been actively hiring international talents to increase their population. By 2050, the target population of South Australia is 2 million. With that in mind, this continuous growth has proven that they have been doing an excellent job. This was stated by the Australian Population Institute Chairman, Michael Hickinbotham.

South Australia has revised its immigration policies corresponding to revisions made to the Australia’s General Skilled Migration program. South Australia offers migration sponsorships for skilled professionals under the visas such as Offshore Skilled Sponsored (subclass 176) visa, Onshore Skilled Sponsored (subclass 886) visa, Onshore Skilled Regional Sponsored (subclass 487) visa, and Offshore Skilled Regional Sponsored (subclass 475) visa.