Record numbers of Australians apply for UK visa

June 15 2009 by Gareth McConnell

Property for sale boosting UK visa numbers

Australian's pushing demand for UK visa

Australians applying for a UK visa are defying the downward trend at UK immigration borders, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

After months of speculation in the media concerning people leaving the UK in their droves, an Australian backlash, bolstering the UK visa market for work and investment purposes is proving a turn in the tide.

In 2004, the number of Australian nationals on UK visas stood at 86,000 and the number with dual nationality stood at 112,000.

The latest figures released by the ONS show a substantial increase to 95,000 and 123,000 respectively.

A spokesperson from the ONS stated the figures were based on statistics from September 2008 and “unless something has dramatically changed in the past couple of months, that’s as official as you get.”

The increase in Australian nationals applying for a UK visa is being attributed to the weak pound and strong Australian dollar, says Martyn Gerrard of the National Association of Estate Agents.

“I think we have hit the bottom, the market has already started to pick up, showing signs of improvement and shown a lot of foreign interest in April/May not just from Australia but from other places (such as Japan and Europe as a whole)," Gerrard told the Daily Telegraph.

A second London estate agent, Steve Smith, confirmed he has between ten and fifteen Australian landlords on his books.

“Historically, they’ve [Australians] been over here, done their work bit, earned some money and bought property which they kept obviously because the property investment market in the UK compared with there [Australia] is a lot better,” said Smith.

“Our experience has been that the Aussies in general have always had an interest in the property market.”