Country Overview – Pakistan
Population
As of June 2021, Australia was home to 95,980 individuals of Pakistani origin, a substantial increase from the 34,150 recorded in June 2011. This Pakistani-born community now ranks as the nineteenth largest migrant group in Australia, representing 1.3 percent of the overseas-born population and 0.4 percent of the total Australian population.
Notable Characteristics of Pakistani-born Migrants in Australia:
- Median age: 32.9 years, which is 5.4 years younger than the general population.
- Gender distribution: Males make up 59.4 percent, while females account for 40.6 percent of this group. [Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s Population by Country of Birth]
Permanent Migration
Australia’s Permanent Migration Program encompasses various pathways to achieve permanent residency, including economic and family migration. It also accommodates individuals on humanitarian grounds.
Skill Stream Visas
The Skill stream caters to individuals possessing skills, qualifications, and entrepreneurial abilities that are in high demand within the Australian economy. This stream comprises seven distinct components:
- Business Innovation and Investment
- Distinguished Talent
- Employer Sponsored
- Global Talent (Independent)
- Regional
- Skilled Independent
- State/Territory Nominated
Family and Child Stream Visas
The Family stream enables the permanent migration of close family members, including partners and parents, of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens. Additionally, it offers opportunities for other family members such as aged dependent relatives, carers, remaining relatives, and orphan relatives to join their family in Australia.
Child visas facilitate the permanent migration of children of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens, encompassing two categories: Child and Adoption visas.
Special Eligibility Visas
Special Eligibility visas grant permanent residency to former residents and specific individuals who have served in the Australian Defence Force.
The following table presents the size of permanent migration from Pakistan categorized by the respective migration streams.
| Migration category | 2018–19 | 2020–20 | 2010–21 | 2021–22 |
| Business Innovation and Investment | 43 | 46 | 79 | 103 |
| Employer Sponsored | 489 | 403 | 326 | 360 |
| Skilled Regional 1 | 93 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Skilled Independent | 1,353 | 451 | 231 | 117 |
| State/Territory Nominated | 1,387 | 674 | 573 | 688 |
| Regional 2 | n/a | 1,223 | 762 | 1,358 |
| Global Talent (Independent) 3 | n/a | 169 | 276 | 221 |
| Partner | 1,228 | 1,044 | 1,809 | 704 |
| All other categories | 146 | 126 | 65 | 183 |
| Total places granted | 4,739 | 4,136 | 4,121 | 3,734 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs
1 The Skilled Regional category closed to new applications from 1 July 2019.
2 The Regional migration category commenced 1 July 2019.
3 Global Talent (Independent) category commenced 4 November 2019.
Temporary Migration in Australia
Temporary migration to Australia serves various purposes, accommodating individuals who wish to stay in the country temporarily. These purposes range from tourism and business visits to specialized activities such as medical treatment, education, skilled work, and working holidays. Temporary stays can extend beyond three months, and there are six primary categories of temporary residents, with the applicability of these categories varying for migrants from different countries.
Visitor Visas
Visitor visas are predominantly utilized by individuals visiting Australia for leisure, tourism, recreational purposes, or to reunite with family and friends. They can also be employed for specific short-term business activities that do not involve working within Australia.
Working Holiday Maker Program
The Working Holiday Maker Program offers young adults the opportunity for an extended holiday experience in Australia, coupled with short-term work and study engagements.
Student Visa
The Student visa program enables international students to pursue full-time studies in registered courses within Australia.
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) Visa
This visa type permits businesses to sponsor skilled overseas workers if they are unable to find a suitably skilled Australian citizen or permanent resident to fill a particular skilled position.
Other Temporary Visas
Other temporary visas encompass a wide array of categories, catering to individuals who wish to undertake short-term, specialized work, contribute to social and cultural development, strengthen international relations, or participate in training programs beneficial to Australia.
New Zealand Citizens
Under the 1973 Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, New Zealand citizens enjoy the privilege of freely entering and leaving Australia. They can also reside in Australia indefinitely upon the grant of a Special Category visa (subclass 444).
The subsequent table illustrates the number of visa grants issued to migrants from Pakistan for Visitor, Student, and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas.
| Temporary visa category | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
| Visitor | 13,433 | 10,679 | 965 | 6,239 |
| Student | 7,322 | 7,653 | 6,386 | 5,164 |
| Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) | 689 | 433 | 317 | 666 |
| Other temporary visa grants 1 | 3,625 | 4,035 | 2,059 | 2,640 |
| Total temporary visa grants | 25,069 | 22,800 | 9,727 | 14,709 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs
1 Excludes Transit visa (subclass 771), Border visa (subclass 773) and Maritime Crew visa (subclass 988).
Main occupations
The following table shows the main occupations for nationals of Pakistan, based on Skill stream migration outcomes and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.
| 2021–22 | ||||
| Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 54 | Accountants | 382 | |
| Accountants | 45 | Electrical engineers | 107 | |
| Software and applications programmers | 37 | Software and applications programmers | 92 | |
| General practitioners and resident medical officers | 27 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 87 | |
| ICT business and systems analysts | 16 | Other engineering professionals | 72 | |
| Electrical engineers | 10 | Civil engineering professionals | 70 | |
| Chefs | 10 | Computer network professionals | 46 | |
| Other engineering professionals | 9 | Chefs | 41 | |
| Civil engineering professionals | 8 | ICT business and systems analysts | 40 | |
| Motor mechanics | 8 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 36 | |
| 2020–21 | ||||
| Software and applications programmers | 21 | Accountants | 201 | |
| General practitioners and resident medical officers | 14 | Software and applications programmers | 94 | |
| Accountants | 8 | Electrical engineers | 61 | |
| Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 6 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 54 | |
| Other medical practitioners | 6 | Other engineering professionals | 47 | |
| ICT business and systems analysts | 6 | Civil engineering professionals | 46 | |
| Chefs | 6 | Computer network professionals | 33 | |
| Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 5 | ICT business and systems analysts | 32 | |
| Computer network professionals | 5 | Database and systems administrators, and ICT security specialists | 27 | |
| Cooks | 5 | Chemical and materials engineers | 21 | |
| 2019–20 | ||||
| General practitioners and resident medical officers | 28 | Accountants | 336 | |
| Accountants | 10 | Software and applications programmers | 82 | |
| Software and applications programmers | 10 | Other engineering professionals | 51 | |
| ICT business and systems analysts | 7 | Electrical engineers | 48 | |
| Cooks | 7 | Civil engineering professionals | 40 | |
| Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 6 | ICT business and systems analysts | 40 | |
| University lecturers and tutors | 5 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 38 | |
| Computer network professionals | 5 | Computer network professionals | 38 | |
| Electrical engineers | < 5 | Motor mechanics | 34 | |
| Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | < 5 | Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 27 | |
| 2018–19 | ||||
| General practitioners and resident medical officers | 31 | Accountants | 226 | |
| Accountants | 24 | Software and applications programmers | 122 | |
| Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers | 22 | Electrical engineers | 105 | |
| Cooks | 15 | Telecommunications engineering professionals | 99 | |
| ICT business and systems analysts | 13 | Industrial, mechanical and production engineers | 86 | |
| Software and applications programmers | 12 | Computer network professionals | 70 | |
| Motor mechanics | 10 | Other engineering professionals | 50 | |
| Chefs | 9 | Civil engineering professionals | 49 | |
| Computer network professionals | 8 | Database and systems administrators, and ICT security specialists | 48 | |
| University lecturers and tutors | 7 | ICT business and systems analysts | 44 | |
Source: Department of Home Affairs
Note: To protect the privacy of individuals, various data confidentiality techniques have been applied. These techniques include:
- data masking — using primary and secondary suppression methods for values that are deemed to be a disclosure risk
- perturbation — a data security technique that allows for random data adjustment to prevent the release of identifiable data.
Note: Occupation level information is available for primary applicants only, and is based on Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations unit level data.
Geographic distribution
The following table shows the geographic distribution of migrants, based on permanent additions for the Skill and Family streams, international student visa grants, and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.
| Population | NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT |
| Census 2021 (%) | ||||||||
| Of all persons | 32 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Of Pakistani-born | 38 | 35 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Permanent additions – 2021–22 (%) | ||||||||
| Skill stream | 31 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 6 |
| Family and Child stream | 36 | 40 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Temporary visa grants – 2021–22 (%) | ||||||||
| International student visa grants | 37 | 27 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa (primary) grants | 43 | 36 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs
Note: Permanent additions consist of two components; those persons who, while already in Australia on a temporary basis, are granted permanent residence status or those persons who have subsequently arrived from overseas during the reporting period and are entitled to stay permanently in Australia.
Country ranking
This table uses rankings to show the significance of Pakistani migration for the past four financial years.
| Ranked position of migrants | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 |
| Population in Australia 1 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 19 |
| Regional | n/a | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Employer Sponsored | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
| Total Skill stream | 8 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
| Total Family and Child stream | 9 | 9 | 9 | 14 |
| International students | 15 | 11 | 8 | 13 |
| Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa | 21 | 22 | 24 | 19 |
| Visitors | 38 | 37 | 23 | 28 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs
1 Population level data is by country of birth and lags one year behind the financial year specified. Data based on the estimated residential population at 30 June; 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Source: https://shorturl.at/CDRV1