27 November 2009

Record number of Britons emigrating to Australia

New statistics show more Britons than ever before are emigrating abroad, with Australia the top destination.

Official figures released today by the Office of National Statistics reveal that 427,000 people emigrated from the UK last year, the highest number ever recorded and up 25 per cent on 2007.

Emigrating to Australia was the clear choice in 2008, ahead of Poland, Germany, Spain and France, although the overall number of emigrants to Australia dipped slightly to 56,000 last year from 59,000 in 2007.

Of those who passed through Australian immigration, 63 per cent were British citizens and 32 per cent were Australians returning home.

"In 2008, Australia continued to be the most popular country of next residence for those emigrating from the UK," the Office for National Statistics said.

"British emigrants intending to reside in Australia stated work-related reasons as their main reason for emigrating, of whom 53 per cent had a definite job to go to.”

Most Britons emigrating to Australia would be doing so with an Australian Visa under the skilled migration category, which allows them to move towards permanent residency.

The record numbers of Briton emigrating abroad come at a time when the UK economy started to slide into recession as the global financial crisis began to take its toll.

In contrast, Australia’s economy has shown resilience, bucking the international trend and continuing to grow.

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The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Australian Visa applications with the Australian Embassy.