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September 5, 2023

Permanent migration from Vietnam

Country Profile – Vietnam

Population
As of June 2021, Australia was home to 268,170 individuals of Vietnamese origin, marking a notable increase of 29.2 percent from the 207,620 recorded in June 2011. The Vietnamese-born community stands as the sixth-largest migrant group in Australia, representing 3.6 percent of the overseas-born population and 1.0 percent of the total Australian population.

Key Characteristics of Vietnamese-born Migrants in Australia:

  • Median age: 48.4 years, which is 10.1 years higher than that of the general population.
  • Gender distribution: Females constitute 56.3 percent, while males make up 43.7 percent of this group. [Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s Population by Country of Birth]

Permanent Migration
Australia’s Permanent Migration Program encompasses both economic and family migration, serving as the primary pathway to obtain permanent residency. It comprises three main categories:

Skill Stream Visas
The Skill stream is tailored for individuals possessing the skills, qualifications, and entrepreneurial aptitude most in demand within the Australian economy. This stream encompasses seven components:

  1. Business Innovation and Investment
  2. Distinguished Talent
  3. Employer Sponsored
  4. Global Talent (Independent)
  5. Regional
  6. Skilled Independent
  7. State/Territory Nominated

Family and Child Stream Visas
The Family stream facilitates the permanent migration of close family members, including partners and parents, of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens. Moreover, it provides avenues for additional family members, such as aged dependent relatives, carers, remaining relatives, and orphan relatives, to unite with their families in Australia.

Child visas enable the permanent migration of children born to Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens. The Child visa includes two categories: Child and Adoption visas.

Special Eligibility Visas
Special Eligibility visas grant former residents and specific individuals who have served in the Australian Defence Force the opportunity to establish permanent residency in Australia.

The subsequent table presents the scale of permanent migration from Vietnam categorized by the respective migration streams.

Migration category 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Business Innovation and Investment 478 368 1,144 1,339
Employer Sponsored 736 569 410 821
Skilled Regional 1 11 n/a n/a n/a
Skilled Independent 425 156 82 27
State/Territory Nominated 538 702 433 612
Regional 2 n/a 669 343 481
Global Talent (Independent) 3 n/a 107 325 247
Partner 2,697 2,245 4,749 2,421
All other categories 647 582 634 544
Total places granted 5,532 5,398 8,120 6,492

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 to Australia

Australia welcomes individuals from around the world for temporary stays, catering to various purposes. These temporary visits can encompass leisure, business, education, employment, specialized activities, and more, often extending beyond three months. There are six primary categories of temporary residents, though not all categories apply to migrants from every country.

Visitor Visas
Visitor visas serve individuals primarily visiting Australia for holidays, tourism, recreational activities, or to reunite with family and friends. They may also be used for certain short-term business endeavors that do not involve employment in Australia.

Working Holiday Maker Program
The Working Holiday Maker Program offers young adults the opportunity to embark on an extended holiday experience in Australia while engaging in short-term work and study activities.

Student Visa
The Student visa program facilitates international students’ arrival in Australia to pursue full-time studies in registered courses.

Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) Visa
This visa category enables businesses to sponsor skilled overseas workers when they cannot find suitably skilled Australian citizens or permanent residents to fill specific skilled positions.

Other Temporary Visas
Other temporary visas encompass a diverse range of categories, allowing individuals 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 have the privilege of freely entering and departing Australia. They can also establish indefinite residency in Australia upon the granting of a Special Category visa (subclass 444).

The following table provides data on the number of visa grants issued to migrants from Vietnam, covering Visitor, Student, Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment), and Working Holiday Maker visas.

Temporary visa category 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Visitor 72,852 56,001 6,124 25,167
Student 11,988 10,706 6,776 9,243
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) 1,401 706 465 1,076
Working Holiday Maker 343 922 381 1,945
Other temporary visa grants 1 3,494 2,952 2,556 2,822
Total temporary visa grants 90,078 71,287 16,302 40,253

Source: Department of Home Affairs

1Excludes 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 Vietnam, based on Skill stream migration outcomes and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.

Period  Temporary Resident  (Skilled Employment) visas No. of migrants Skill stream migration No. of migrants
2021–22
  Accountants​ 62​ Accountants 190
  Chefs​ 54 Registered nurses​ 87
  Software and applications programmers​ 51 Software and applications programmers​ 79
  Bakers and pastrycooks​ 42 Chefs​ 51
  Cooks​ 33 Cafe and restaurant managers​ 36
  Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers​ 12 Civil engineering professionals​ 31
  ICT​ business and systems analysts 9 Cooks​ 27
  Management and organisation analysts​ 8 Early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers​ 25
  Mechanical engineering draftspersons and technicians​ 8 Social workers​ 21
  Cafe and restaurant managers​ 7 Chemical and materials engineers​ 19
2020–21
  Bakers and pastrycooks 36 Accountants 110
  Software and applications programmers 24 Software and applications programmers 70
  Cooks 23 Registered nurses 49
  Accountants 19 Civil engineering professionals 28
  Chefs 18 Bakers and pastrycooks 21
  Other personal service workers 11 Medical laboratory scientists 20
  Cafe and restaurant managers 10 ICT business and systems analysts 20
  Advertising and marketing professionals 5 Chefs 20
  ICT business and systems analysts 5 Cafe and restaurant managers 13
  Actuaries, mathematicians and statisticians < 5 University lecturers and tutors 13
2019–20
  Software and applications programmers 35 Accountants 172
  Bakers and pastrycooks 30 Registered nurses 86
  Cooks 24 Software and applications programmers 56
  University lecturers and tutors 14 Cooks 49
  Cafe and restaurant managers 13 Cafe and restaurant managers 44
  Chefs 13 Bakers and pastrycooks 41
  Accountants 11 Civil engineering professionals 27
  Ministers of religion 9 Chefs 25
  Other personal service workers 9 University lecturers and tutors 22
  Management and organisation analysts 8 Agricultural and forestry scientists 21
2018–19
  Accountants 43 Accountants 160
  Chefs 34 Software and applications programmers 76
  Software and applications programmers 32 Registered nurses 43
  Cooks 29 Cooks 38
  Bakers and pastrycooks 21 Cafe and restaurant managers 30
  University lecturers and tutors 19 Civil engineering professionals 26
  Ministers of religion 11 Chefs 18
  Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers 9 Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers 17
  Cafe and restaurant managers 8 University lecturers and tutors 16
  Structural steel and welding trades workers 8 Bakers and pastrycooks 16​

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 Vietnamese-born 38 36 9 7 7 1 1 2
Permanent additions – 2021–22 (%)
Skill stream 28 32 12 13 6 5 2 3
Family and Child stream 41 37 8 5 6 0 1 1
Temporary visa grants – 2021–22 (%)
International student visa grants 29 38 10 14 5 2 1 2
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa (primary) grants 35 38 10 4 8 0 3 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 Vietnamese migration for the past four financial years.

Ranked position of migrants 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Population in Australia 1 6 6 6 6
Regional n/a 9 9 8
Employer Sponsored 13 13 14 6
Total Skill stream 9 9 8 7
Total Family and Child stream 3 4 5 5
International students 6 6 6 4
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa 13 17 18 14
Visitors 16 16 8 12

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.
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Source: https://shorturl.at/kwY57