India tops list of skilled visa immigrants in Australia

Nearly three lakh Indians migrated and settled in Australia from 2000 to 2016, according to official figures, which said India contributed the maximum number of individuals on skilled visa.

A majority of them are fluent in English and many of them have also bought their own homes in the country, it said.

The data came at a time when Australia is witnessing fierce public debate on immigration amidst concern about jobs and overcrowding in major cities.

As many as 291,916 Indians migrated to Australia between 2000 and 2016, of which 154,012 individuals have acquired Australian citizenship, according to a data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday.

For those coming to Australia on the skilled visa, India with 234,395 individuals (19 per cent) bagged the top rank, followed by England and China at 160,558 (13 per cent) and 146,842 (12 per cent) people, respectively, it said.

Under the family visa programme, China with 95,532 immigrants (14 per cent) ranked first, followed by UK at 60,108 (8.8 per cent) and India at 56,406 (8.3 per cent), the figures revealed.

Of a total of 45,816 migrants who came to Australia under the humanitarian visa programme, there were only 1,097 Indians. Iraq topped the list in the category with 37,751 migrants, the data showed.