Australian Visa Bureau » News » Australia tops for Brits looking to emigrate

08 August 2006

Australia tops for Brits looking to emigrate

One in four young Britons want to emigrate and Australia has come out as the destination of choice

The number of Britons who want to leave the country soon has doubled in the three years, a poll by the BBC has found. The survey found that 13 percent want to emigrate in the near future, rising from 7 percent in a similar poll just three years ago.

For the young, living abroad is even more of an appealing prospect, with a quarter of 18-25 year olds saying they would move elsewhere if they could. A better quality of life was the reason more than a third gave for wanting to up sticks the poll found.

Just under a third wanted to move somewhere warmer, whole almost a quarter said Britain had become too expensive.

Australia is the most popular destination, with 40 percent of those polled saying they wanted to move there permanently. Other countries high on the list were Canada, America and New Zealand.

Official figures released last week by the United Kingdom’s Home Office showed that 4.5 million British passport holders now live abroad.

The issue of immigration is being investigated by the Institute for Public Policy Research with their findings to be released in December of 2006. More information about the Brits Abroad Project can be found by visiting the Brits Abroad website.