5,000 skilled Irish granted Australian ‘green card’ in 2013

Some 5,000 skilled Irish people were granted permanent residency in Australia last year, new figures show. They include about 1,650 family members who were allowed to accompany loved ones Down Under.

A report from Australia’s Department of Immigration shows that there were some 4,784 Irish-born permanent additions to the Australian resident population in 2012-2013.

This represented a slight increase on the year before, but a significant jump since 2009-2010 when just over 3,000 permanent visas were granted.