Graduates from University of Cape town may move to Australia

The number of Australian immigrants from South Africa rose by 10% on last year. But the Australian Embassy in Pretoria is aware of the impact that ‘cherry picking’ out the most skilled workers can have on a developing country.

For this reason, the embassy is not advertising Australian immigration in South Africa with the same vigour it does in other counties. It’s a conscious attempt to in an not exacerbate the problem.

But the ‘brain drain’ of skilled South African labour to Australia continues because a basic principle of Australian immigration is to not discriminate.

The Pretoria-based Australia embassy says: “”We do not discriminate on the grounds of country, colour or creed… People from all countries have the same right and opportunity to live and work in Australia”.

Entry requirements into Australia include being under 45-years old and having a skill or qualification that is on their Critical List of skill shortages.

No one can directly buy their way into Australia either. 

Yet this still often results in the underclasses being stranded in the ghetto, because only the wealthier can afford a good education.

This problem sounds serious, but the number of South African immigrants remains small in comparison to those making the move to Australia from other countries.

The South African born population makes up just 0.5% of the Australian population, a country were 25% of all residents were born outside Australia.

Despite a 10% rise from last year, the number of South Africans applying for an Australia visa is still significantly lower than the highs of 2003.