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