Kiwis 'flocking to Australia' on immigration visas

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Created on Monday, 15 April 2013 15:48

Written by Editorial staff

New Zealanders are flocking to Australia in record numbers, new figures have revealed, with many entering the country on temporary immigration visas.

Over 600,000 Kiwis are currently based in Australia, representing nearly 15 per cent of the entire New Zealand population, according to data from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

The department's statistics showed there are currently 1.75 million people in Australia on temporary visas as of December 31 2012, which is approximately the same population as Perth.

This represented a 7.2 per cent increase on the same period the previous year.

The statistics showed NZ citizens with special category visas climbed 5.4 per cent over the last 12 months, with Monash University population expert Dr Bob Birrell describing the information as extraordinary.

"They, like working holidaymakers, students and others, add to the competition for jobs, for space on our roadways and ... for housing," he told the Herald Sun.

"So it makes sense if you're looking for a job to move to Australia rather than stay in NZ. It's like a bottomless pit, the numbers are really significant."

Mr Birrell said the trend was leading to around 30,000 people a year being added to Australia's net migration intake, as the economic benefits of moving become more prominent.
 
Last year, then-immigration minister Chris Bowen described the Australian working holiday visa as the most popular in the world.

Dr Birrell argued that people from NZ on temporary visas should be offered permanent residence, although he supported limits being placed on the movement of New Zealanders living and working in Australia in the future.

Unlike other temporary visa holders, Kiwis are able to stay in Australia for as long as they like under an existing trans-Tasman immigration deal.