Australia cuts visas for builders and manufacturing
Friday, March 20th, 2009is reacting to the global downturn by cutting its intake of migrants for the first time in ten years. The government said this week that it would reduce the number of work permits by about 14%, or 18,500.
The government is removing bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians from the critical shortage list. Hairdressers and cooks had already been removed. Health occupations, engineering and information technology remain on the list.
The visa cuts will affect would-be Irish emigrants. Media reports in recent weeks have detailed problems affective Irish job-seekers in Australia.
Australia’s unemployment rate is currently 5.2%, up from 4.8% last month.
Related websites:
News report highlights costs of emigration
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009The Irish Independent has run a feature story on the costs associated with emigration, highlighting the visa fees and associated costs.
It reports, for example, that the General Skilled Migration programme to Australia costs over €5,000 for the visa, for example, while Canada requires that a would-be emigrant show they have at least CA$10,833 (about €6,717) to support themselves while looking for a job.
Read the entire article at the Irish Independent website: If you want to escape, it will cost you.
For more advice and information on migrating, check out our “Need Advice?” section.
Radio reports focus on emigrant destinations
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009RTE reporter Cian McCormack has done a four-part series on the station’s Morning Ireland radio show covering emigration to the US, Australia, Britain and Canada.
To listen, visit RTE’s archives:
- Emigrating to the US in search of work – 3 March
- Australia still popular with Irish emigrants – 4 March
- Emigrating to Britain – 5 March
- Emigrating to Canada – 6 March
Where can job seekers go now? asks Indo
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008As talk of emigration rises, the question of where Irish people can go to find work is of increasing relevance. An article in this weekend’s Irish Independent suggests any move should be made with caution. The newspaper notes that economic forecasts for traditional emigrant destinations are bleak, and with increasing mobility of other nationalities, Irish job-seekers may find increasing competition abroad.
The newspaper takes an international rundown:
Australia - the number of Irish people seeking to emigrate to Australia has increased dramatically, but the labour shortages of a year ago appear to be ending, and redundancies are increasing. The unemployment rate is currently 4.4%, but rising.
Canada - Canada’s economy has been strong, but its November job losses totaled 71,000, the highest number of layoffs in a single month in 25 years. The west of the country remains in better shape.
US - Even those who are legally entitled to emigrate may find the US tough going right now – more than a half-million people lost their jobs last month, the highest number since December 1974.
The Middle East – Dubai looks like its economy is faltering due to overspeculation, but there remain openings in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi for such professionals as engineers, architects and accountants.
Eastern Europe – One report says that there will be strong growth in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic. While many Polish expats are returning home to take up new opportunities in its growing economy, there are good jobs available even for those who don’t speak Polish. While wages are low, so is the cost of living.
Related article:
Irish Independent: Emigration once again – but where can our young job-seekers go now?
No escape from recession, says college student
Monday, December 15th, 2008There’s no escape from the recession, writes a Dublin City University student in “The College View”, a campus publication. Sabrina Ryan notes that, “Emigration has been a dominant factor in Irish society over the past four centuries for many reasons including famine, job opportunity and more recently for the experience.“
That may be changing, she notes, as the traditional emigrant destinations of the US, Britain and Australia are also threatened by recession.
Ryan interviews three emigrants:
- a man who left from Mayo in 1971 to head for Cleveland, and who returned after a brief stay to take advantage of the improving conditions after Ireland joined the EU.
- An undocumented immigrant living in the Bronx, who left for adventure and appreciates the life experience New York has given him.
- A recently unemployed cabinet-maker who is planning to emigrate to Australia. His brother left for Dubai earlier this year.
It’s an interesting insight into the emigrant experience of three different eras – made poignant by the fact that it’s written by a member of a generation that few would have believed would need to consider emigration as a matter of economic necessity.
Related link:
The College View: Au Revoir to Fair Ireland?
Irish in Australia increasing, figures show
Friday, November 21st, 2008The number of Irish nationals coming to Australia is rising substantially, according to Department of Immigration figures reported in the Irish Echo. The figures show increasing numbers of people immigrating to Australia under working holiday visas, employer-sponsored 457 visas, permanent residency visas, and through the Family Migration stream. If current trends continue, 87,000 Irish nationals will be issued visas this year, up from 81,070 last year and 75,246 the year before.
There were 7,332 working holiday visas issued between July 1 and October 31 this year, up 33% from the same period last year, when there were 5,535 issued. In the same period in 2006, there were 4,733 issued.
More Irish are choosing to stay in Australia at the end of their one-year working holiday: between July and October, 1,239 applied for an extension, a quadrupling from the 371 who applied last year. Over 10% of those on working holiday visas are now applying for a second year. Last year, there was a record total of 15,625 working holiday visas, and this number will increase for 2008/2009.
The number of 457 visas, which are employer-sponsored and valid for up to four years has nearly doublied in two years. For July to October, there were 1,220 visas, up from 670 in 2006. More people are immigating with partners and dependents: 900 of the 467 visas were to primary applications and 320 are secondary, up from 600 and 160 respectively last year.
The number of Irish people offered resident visas from July through October this year has jumped 60%, from 391 in 2007 to 633 in 2008.
Irish visitor numbers, however, are decreasing; the 16,730 who came to Australia on holiday visas between July and October represented a decline of 8%.
See the article on the Irish Echo website.
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