MIGRANT INFLUX
Visa-holders flood to Tassie
THE number of international migrants coming to Tasmania on skilled visas has more than doubled after a Federal Government bid to encourage migrants to settle in the regions.
Figures to be released today reveal more people settled in our state over the past three months than in the regional parts of Victoria and Western Australia.
THE number of migrants coming to Tasmania on skilled visas has more than doubled after a Federal Government bid to encourage newcomers to settle in regional Australia.
Figures to be released today by Immigration Minister David Coleman show 609 people came to Tasmania between July and September under the regional sponsored migration and skilled visas scheme.
This compares with 240 people in the same quarter the previous year and is higher than the number of migrants going to regional Victoria (595) and Western Australia (536) from July to September.
The Government was increasing its focus on the distribution of migrants as well as the overall number of arrivals, Mr Coleman said.
“Regional migration is a key pillar of our Population Plan which is working to ease the pressure on the big capitals while supporting the growth of those regions that want more people,” Mr Coleman said.
“Already we’re seeing results, with a 124 per cent increase in regional visas being granted in the first three months of the program year.”
In March, the Federal Government announced a reduction in the permanent migration program cap from 190,000 to 160,000 and set aside 23,000 places for regional visas. Since July 1, 6350 regional visas have been granted, up from 2836.
These included 3559 regional sponsored migration scheme visas and 2793 regional skilled sponsored visas.
From November 16, these visa categories will be replaced with the two new regional visas for skilled workers.
These require migrants to live and work in a regional area for three years before being eligible for permanent residence.
The Department of Treasury and Finance’s latest report on population shows overseas migration is the biggest contributor to the state’s population growth.
In the year to March, 3035 migrants came to the state — 477 more than the previous year. Overseas migration resulted in a net inflow of 1044 people in the March quarter of 2019, compared with a net inflow of 686 people in the preceding quarter.