According to the recent Annual Report released by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Australia, following are some of the highlights that are described in the same:

• 171 318 people were granted migration visas, out of which 67% were granted under Skill Stream, the category of Family Stream occupied 32.9% and 0.1%  were placed under the special eligibility component.
• The number of Employed Sponsored Visas enhanced by a heavy margin of 60% in 2008-2009. The report showed the number reached 38 026.
• 101 280 Subclass 457 Visas were granted, the number that showed an increase of 8% as compared to the previous year. It is believed that the Subclass 457 Visa provides a gateway towards getting a PR in a country. The report proved this fact as 39 170 subclass 457 visa holders were given a PR status.
• ‘Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme’: Tonga and Vanuatu were invited to be a part of this scheme. 50 workers from Tonga and 6 workers from Vanuatu arrived in Australia. Other two countries that are part of this scheme are Kiribati, Papua New Guinea
• 356 251 student visa applications were finalized which means an increase of 18.3% than the last year. Out of them, 72.7% were offshore and the remaining was onshore. In addition, 188 150 applications for Study Visa were registered through online medium that represents an increase of 34.3% as compared to the last year.

Australia has sincerely shown some of the positive outcomes as far as Immigration is concerned. The report clearly depicts that it is one of the prospective destinations for various facets like studying, traveling, business ventures, to name a few.  If you are one of those applicants who are planning to immigrate to Australia, it would be wise to hire the services of an Immigration expert today!