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Get back to classroom for a job Down Under
By Prathima Nandakumar/TNN
The Times Of India, Hyderabad - December 9, 2004
Vadodara: Guess why more and more skilled professionals in India are turning students? Answer: For a life Down Under.
With securing the pass mark for the Skilled Independent Regional of SIR visa becoming increasingly difficult, many have been opting for a students visa to reachAustralia go through the rigours of a student life for a period and then start working.
Experts say that it is advisable for young professionals under 30 to go for further studies to secure bonus points. The SIR visa,designed to attract migrants, demands that migrants live and works in specific regional areas in Australia like South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania. But , the existing point system does not address the underlying issues of comparable labour market, relevant work experience and restriction on age , says experts.
At least 90% of our graduates have relevant experience that matches with their core competence. Most young professionals make up their mind late, thereby forfeiting points entitled for those below 30 years, says Ashok Dhruva of Capris Overseas, an immigration consultantancy firm based here.
Immigrants who manage to score 110 points and apply for a SIR visa still face shortage of points to apply for permanent residence (PR), which is compelling them to opt for education or working in regions.
The immigrant may choose to enroll for courses which can fetch him five bonus points to add up his score to 115. Alternatively, he can choose to work in regions that can award 10 points. A spouse holding degrees can also earn 5 points for the applicant, says
Dhruva.
The SIR visa is still a gamble. People are availing of student visa to gather bonus points before they apply for the work permit and permanent residency.
Indian immigration to Australia triples
IANS, Sydney Nov 24: Buoyed by the Australian government’s encouragement to skilled professionals to settle Down Under, the number of Indians immigrating to this country has tripled in the last 10 years.According to the figures released by the Australian immigration department, the largest group of immigrants settling in Victoria state has mentioned India as their “country of origin”.
Overall, India is ranked a close fourth behind China as provider of the largest number of immigrants to Australia.
Britain tops the list, with 19,214 of its denizens moving to sunnier Australia. New Zealand contributed 14,418 immigrants to its cross-Tasman Sea neighbour. The number of Chinese immigrants (excluding Hong Kong) in the year 2003-04 reads as 8,784 while India comes fourth with 8,135.
The highest number of Indian immigrants, 3,639, are believed to have settled in New South Wales while 3,236 of their compatriots preferred Victoria over the other Australian states.
The fact that most of the Indians name English as their first language gives them an advantage over the migrants arriving from non-English backgrounds such as China and South America.
In fact the number of immigrants from English-speaking countries such as Britain, South Africa and India has burgeoned from 37 per cent eight years ago to more than 50 per cent. Last year’s Australian immigrant intake stood at 1,10,000.
Proficiency in English gets extra points for Australian skilled visa applicants. Besides being fluent in the Queen’s language, most Indians settling in Australia are also believed to be degree-holders. This gives them a head start over the applicants from other poor countries.
Another significant fact making it to the headlines is about the migrant intake from Britain and Ireland. For the first time in the last eight years of the conservative government of John Howard, the migrants from the Mother Country have outstripped South-East Asians.
The Howard government has been gradually reducing the number of applicants seeking to join their relatives in Australia. But this policy has not affected the spouse category that is still uncapped.
The applicants in the humanitarian or refugee category are also being discouraged to consider Australia as one of the possible destinations.
Thanks to the gigantic number of job opportunities provided by Australia’s largest city Sydney, the state of New South Wales continues to attract the maximum number of migrants to its shores.
The number may have fallen slightly due to New South Wales’ efforts to discourage the new settlers to cope with the surging population, but it is still far ahead of Victoria.
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