On 29 March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a dataset titled “Permanent migrants in Australia”, summarising the characteristics of those who became Australian permanent residents (PR) between 1 January 2000 and 10 August 2021.

Across this span of more than 21 years — where Australia’s PR holders came from, and where they eventually ended up — the findings throw up some interesting points.

“Migrant” can be defined in different ways. Unlike before, everything below referring to [migrants] means [permanent residents, PR]

The headline numbers

– Since 2000, Australia has welcomed 3 million migrants

– India makes up the largest share, with more than 439,000 people

– Of the 3 million migrants, 59% eventually took up Australian citizenship

–As many as 89% of migrants can communicate in fluent English

(the original says “proficient in English”, which readily brings to mind four 7s in IELTS — though we don’t think the ABS would have applied that kind of hard exam benchmark in its survey)

– 58% were the primary applicant when they applied, and 53% were women;

–13% only obtained PR in the past five years — so-called new migrants

(the dataset is the 2021 Census)

Mainland China migrants approach 335,000; India leads skilled migration by a wide margin

Among the source countries for skilled migration, India is in a league of its own, Mainland China and the UK form a tier of their own, followed by the Philippines and South Africa, which each form their own tier

For family migration, Mainland China supplies the most — likely driven by partner migration and parent migration combined

In total numbers, India has close to 440,000, with Mainland China second at close to 335,000

The most typical Australian migrant: now aged 35–39, originally came to Australia through skilled migration

–59% of migrants came through the skilled stream(investor migration also sits within the broader skilled category), 32% came through family migration, and the remainder through humanitarian programmes

The median age of skilled migrants is 37; the largest group who came to Australia via skilled migration are now aged 35–39, numbering 319,100; next is the 40–44 age group, also via skilled migration, at 262,200; then the 30–34 skilled migrants, at 232,700.

In other words, among those aged 30–44, some 814,000 people originally settled in Australia through skilled migration — 27% of the total. Are you one of them?

Add in the 25–29 and 45–49 age groups and the figure comfortably tops 1 million.

Temporary to permanent: 70% make the switch within five years

For 58% of migrants — that is, 1.7 million people — a PR visa was their very first Australian visa. Within this group, however, 93% came through humanitarian programmes, family migration accounts for 75%, and skilled migration only 43%.

Meanwhile, another 1.3 million migrants held a temporary visa as their first visa, the most common being the student visa (25.8%), with Temporary Skilled (mainly employer-sponsored) not far behind, at 21.9%.

70% of those moving from a temporary visa to permanent residency do so within five years, and a closer look shows this clustered in years 3–5. Provided policy and processing speeds hold up, that is a normal timeline for a study-to-migration or employer-sponsored migration pathway.

Migrants are heavily concentrated in capital cities, with skilled migrants clustering in Sydney and Melbourne

87% of migrants settle in their state’s capital city, and 56% are in Sydney and Melbourne. Look more closely and the spread between capital cities is very uneven too: Brisbane takes 9.9% and Perth 13.9%, leaving little for the rest.

Migrants have a 71% employment rate, rising to 81% for skilled migrants

Among migrants aged 15 or over, 71% are employed

Among skilled migrants aged 15 or over, 81% are employed

Among migrant primary applicants aged 15 or over, 75% are employed; for secondary applicants the figure is 64%

The chart below shows the ten occupations migrants work in most

The median weekly income of skilled migrants is AUD 1,234(as at the 2021 Census). Counting four weeks to a month, that is close to AUD 5,000

The median weekly income of family migrants is AUD 724

Citizenship take-up: Mainland China ranks only tenth

Overall, the citizenship rate for those who came via skilled migration is 64%, well ahead of the 47% for family migration.

For migrants from South Africa, as many as 73.8% take up citizenship. Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the UK also have relatively high citizenship rates.Mainland China is only 36.5%.

You might wonder why Australia ranks second — Australians taking up Australian citizenship? This refers to people born in Australia whose parents were not yet PR holders at the time of birth.

A few thoughts

This Census-based dataset broadly reflects the migrant PR profile we recognise. That said, we still feel that a 21-year span is too long — migration policy has been through several cycles, and the migrant profile varies enormously. We would rather see data for the past 5 or past 10 years.Take the time it takes to move from a temporary visa to permanent residency — anyone who lived through the pre- and post-pandemic period will know exactly what we mean.

Of course, the data also points to some issues with migration policy.The fact that migrants’ settlement choices are so concentrated is itself a hint that using various visa settings — even deliberately dragging out grant times — to try to “tie down” prospective new migrants may work for a few short years.But the data shows that the moment PR is finally granted is, for many people, the point at which they genuinely start to consider moving.As we always say, people migrate for a better life — so jobs, infrastructure and housing need to keep pace first.

Australian skilled migration has weathered the winter and moved into spring. Get in touch with our team now to assess the pathway that’s right for you, and by the next national Census you’ll be one of those 3 million-plus PR holders!

Past highlights

Three months left in the financial year — several state nominations will keep issuing invitations steadily, even in big numbers!

NSW state officials confirm: Subclass 491 invitations are about to surge — multiple rounds and large volumes!

Direct offshore applications and invitations — picked up on a bare 50 points, with zero additional requirements!

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In 21 Years Australia Welcomed 3 Million PR Holders: Where Are Those Migrants Now, and How Are They Doing — Income, Outcomes and What They Do

Three months left in the financial year — several state nominations will keep issuing invitations steadily, even in big numbers!

NSW state officials confirm: Subclass 491 invitations are about to surge — multiple rounds and large volumes!

Direct offshore applications and invitations — picked up on a bare 50 points, with zero additional requirements!

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