Immigration to Australia
Australia is a country of immigrants. The flow of immigrants started in the middle of the 17th century, and has been growing ever since.
At the 18th and 19th centuries immigration considered punishment for English convicts deported to Australia.
In the years that followed, many free settlers arrived. They raised cattle and sheep, grew crops or followed the gold rush. Although the conditions back then were harsh, Australia was seen as a land of opportunity as it still is today.
Since 1945 about 7 million people have immigrated to Australia, an average of 1 million immigrants per decade.
Today, the Australian people understand that it is a privilege to immigrate to Australia; naturally the migration legislation was updated many times, reorganized and became very strict. Nevertheless, Australia's authorities issue about 150,000 permanent residency visas every year under the different categories.
Australia welcomes the migration of quality people who can contribute to the welfare of the country, such as students who graduated in Australia, skilled professional people, business and/or wealthy people. Based on these criteria, you can become a permanent resident.
The acceleration of the Australian market in the last decade has created an enormous demand for professionals, a demand that rises every year. Today the market presents a shortage of about 250,000 professionals of different trades, and the increased development constantly creates new vacancies in the labor market.
The list of professions recognized for migration purposes is enormous and includes most areas: carpenters, cooks, metal workers, hair dressers, gardeners, child care, doctors, nurses, alternative medicine, teachers, accountants, engineers, are just the beginning of a list that comprises of 482 different professions! 
There are other visas that are not based on skills or personal data, but on a family relationship to an Australian citizen.
There are visas for refugees and minorities at risk.
On a regular working day the Australian Department Of Immigration receives about 12,000 visa applications. On a regular working day the department approves about 500 Permanent Residence visas and about 400 citizenships (Australian passport).
There are over 100 different types of visas, making the right choice of migration pathway so critical from the start. Professional personal migration advice and service throughout the migration process is crucial.
The chance of success of each visa application is known in advance to professionals. In most cases, when a visa has been refused by the Australian Department of Immigration it is because it was incomplete or unprofessional, or did not meet the mandatory visa criteria. All of this is known in advance to professional migration agents.