There are many reasons to work and live abroad – to gain insight in local culture, earn money for travel, for improved employment conditions, or maybe it’s just that the grass appears greener elsewhere. Once a decision has been made to move to another country, the list of things to do can seem overwhelming. One first task is to investigate and then apply for the relevant visa or permit for the country of interest.

Governments Support the Migrant Worker Schemes

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) suggests that young migrant workers are necessary for Developed Countries to sustain a working age population. Some governments respond to this trend and actively welcome an immigrant workforce such as via the Working Holiday Maker scheme which targets people aged 18-30 from the UK and Commonwealth countries.

The IOM states that “In the absence of international migration, population in developed countries aged 20-64 may be expected to decline by 23 per cent from 741 million to 571 million by 2050.” The 2010 Intergenerational Report from the Australian Government agrees that immigration helps support the ageing resident population “because migrants tend to be younger on average than the resident population.” Australia is anticipating 170,000 placements for new migrants in 2009-2010.