Immigration in australia

immigration in australia

Short immigration history:

- 1^st immigration 1788 British colonization

- 1851: Gold Rush, mid 1853: 60 000 diggers plus families arrived

- 1945: post war migration, betw. 1945-60: 1,7 mill. Immigrants

- since 1945: 6 mill. immigrants in total

Policies:

- 1949: non-discriminatory immigration policy replaced White Australian     

Policy (favoured the British) dual citizenship was allowed, naturalization  

possible after 2 y. of permanent residence

- 1960´s: Assimilation Policy replaced by Policy of Integration

- 1989: National Agenda for a multicultural Australia, principles:

Responsibilities of all - all Australians have a civic duty to support those basic structures and principles of Australian society which guarantee us our freedom and equality and enable diversity in our society to flourish;

Respect for each person - subject to the law, all Australians have the right to express their own culture and beliefs and have a reciprocal obligation to respect the right of others to do the same;

Fairness for each person - all Australians are entitled to equality of treatment and opportunity. Social equity allows us all to contribute to the social, political and economic life of Australia, free from discrimination, including on the grounds of race, culture, religion, language, location, gender or place of birth; and

Benefits for all - all Australians benefit from productive diversity, that is, the significant cultural, social and economic dividends arising from the diversity of our population. Diversity works for all Australians.

General information:

- AUS major immigration country

- 20 mill. citizens, half of it: born outside

for example: 2001-2002, people from over 170 different countries Australian    citizenship, major countries:

- 3 in 4 migrants take up formal citizenship

- 95 % of pop has AUS citizenship (June 2002), over 950 000 still applying (2002)

Impacts on immigration:

Immigration affects the demand side of Australia's economy through:

migrants' own spending (food, housing and leisure activities)

business expansion (investment to produce extra goods and services), and

expansion of government services (health, education and welfare).

It also affects the supply side of the economy through:

labour, skills and capital introduced into Australia

new businesses developed by migrants

migrant contributions to technology, and

adding productive diversity through knowledge of international business markets.

Different Visas:

- per month: over 5000 people receive AUS visa & migrate permanently

- 79 different entry visas, divided in 4 categories:

1. Skilled Visa (skilled migrants come without sponsor, but need to have job skills, record of employment, excellent English & young working age)

2. Partner Visa (Australian citizens can sponsor a partner to immigrate, only a   

life partner, not a business one)

3. Parent Visa ( for parents of citizens or permanent residents who want to

reunite with children)

4. Short-term Visa (for tourists, short-term study, business, etc.)

Humanatarian Programm:

- each year 1000s humanitarian entrants government provides extra      

service to rebuild their lives  (i.e. Initial Information and Orientation Assistanc social support&friendship or Community Support for Refugees income support, Medicare, education, etc)

- definition of the term refugee:

that the person has to be outside their country of origin;

the reason for their flight has to be a fear of persecution;

this fear of persecution has to be well founded (ie they have to have experienced it or be likely to experience it if they return);

the persecution has to result from one or more of the 5 grounds listed in the definition;

they have to be unwilling or unable to seek the protection of their country.