Australia is one of the top destinations for skilled foreign workers from around the globe due to its strong economy, high standard of living, spectacular scenery and immigrant-friendly attitude, among other reasons.
Multiple assessments have listed Australia’s largest cities among the top places on the planet with the highest quality of life. Take a look at some recent respected evaluations, and you will easily understand why thousands of people want to move to Australia!
Year after year, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth are ranked among the world’s top 10 most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). For example, the EIU researchers who evaluated 140 major cities around the globe named Melbourne the #1 most livable city in the world in August 2016, while Adelaide was tied with the Canadian city of Calgary for 5th place, Perth was #7, Sydney was #11, and Brisbane came in 16th place.
In a different assessment, Monocle rated Melbourne in 2016 as having the 6th highest quality of life on the planet, with Sydney ranked #8.
Not surprisingly, Melbourne was rated as the world’s #2 best place to be a student in the QS Best Student Cities of 2016, while Sydney came in 4th place.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a report in October 2014 that declared Australia’s capital city of Canberra as the best place in the world to live. More recently, Numbeo.com named Canberra as the world’s #1 city for quality of life.
Furthermore, Sydney was rated as the #2 friendliest city on Earth in the 2016 Reader’s Choice Survey, which was conducted by Conde Nast Traveler magazine.
Australia’s largest city has also received high marks in various global assessments. For example, the 2016 and 2015 Mercer Quality of Living Survey declared Sydney the #1 best place to live in Australia and also considered Sydney to be the #10 top city in the world for quality of life, out of around 230 cities surveyed around the globe, while the EIU ranked Sydney as the 11th most livable city in the world in August 2016.
Sydney and Melbourne are also among the safest places to live on the planet. In January 2015, The Economist released its 2015 Safe Cities Index and ranked Sydney the 6th safest city in the world, while Melbourne was named the 9th safest city on Earth.
With incredible cities, beautiful beaches, spectacular scenery and excellent job opportunities, it is not surprising that the 2014 Better Life Index, issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), considered Australia to be the #1 happiest country in the industrialized world for the fourth year in a row!
With all that Australia has to offer, it has become an “immigration magnet” for thousands of people seeking better opportunities in life. In fact, approximately 200,000 people are issued a Permanent Resident (PR) Visa to Australia annually through various Australian immigration programs. Sustained immigration to Australia has made the “Land Down Under” one of the most multicultural countries on Earth, in which 28% of its 24 million residents were born overseas. Consequently, Australia is a country where newcomers can feel right at home.
One of the most popular Australian immigration programs is the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program, which offers a PR Visa to Australia to eligible skilled foreign workers whose occupations are in high demand in Australia (as indicated on the Skilled Occupations List or the Consolidated Skilled Occupations List) and who meet all of the requirements established by the Australian government.
Two of the main subclasses for the GSM program are the Skilled Independent Subclass 189 Visa to Australia and the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 Visa to Australia. These are both points-based Australian immigration programs in which points are given for age, English language abilities, work experience, education level, and other factors. A minimum of 60 points is required to be eligible to file an Expression of Interest (EOI) to immigrate to Australia through the GSM Program. Skilled foreign workers must also be under 50 years of age when the Invitation to Apply (ITA) for the Australian PR Visa is issued; pass health and background checks; and meet other requirements.
If approved for a Permanent Resident Visa to Australia, a skilled foreign worker and their eligible family members will be authorized to live, work or study long-term in Australia and enjoy the high quality of life that Australia is famous for. After living in Australia as a permanent resident four years and meeting other criteria, there is also an option to apply for Australian citizenship!