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Country profile - Sri Lanka

​​​​​​​​Population

At the end of June 2022, 145,430 people who were born in Sri Lanka were living in Australia, 38.6 per cent more than the number (104,950) at 30 June 2012. This is the eleventh largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to 1.9 per cent of Australia's overseas-born population and 0.6 per cent of Australia's total population.

For Australia's Sri Lankan-born migrants:

  • Their median age of 42.3 years was 3.8 years above that of the general population.
  • Males outnumbered females—52.0 per cent compared with 48.0 per cent.
(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s Population by Country of Birth)

Permanent migration

Australia's permanent Migration Program incorporates economic and family migration and is the main pathway to permanent residence. It includes the Skill stream, Family stream and Special Eligibility visas. The only other way to obtain permanent residence is on humanitarian grounds.

Skill stream visas

The Skill stream is designed for workers who have the skills, qualifications and entrepreneurship most needed in the Australian economy. There are 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 allows the permanent migration of close family members, of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens. It focuses on partners and parents, but also provides the opportunity for additional family members, such as aged dependent relatives, carers, remaining relatives and orphan relatives, to join their family in Australia.

Child visas allow the permanent migration of children, of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens. The Child visa comprises two categories, namely Child and Adoption visas.

Special Eligibility visas

Special Eligibility visas allow former residents and certain people who served in the Australian Defence Force to live in Australia as permanent residents.

The following table shows the size of permanent migration from Sri Lanka by migration category.

Table 1: Permanent migrant places granted, 2019–20 to 2022–23
Migration category2019–202020–212021–22​2022–23
Business Innovation and Investment261148743
Employer Sponsored4294316291,078
Skilled Independent18911025616
State/Territory Nominated414268444834
Regional 18834516991,068
Global Talent (Independent) 2128179141115
Partner381587661554
All other categories15997115174
Total places granted 2,609 2,237 2,801 4,482
Source: Department of Home Affairs
1The Regional migration category commenced 1 July 2019. 
2Global Talent (Independent) category commenced 4 November 2019.​

Temporary migration

People can come to Australia for a temporary stay for a range of purposes, for example, visiting Australia for tourism or attending a conference, or for more specific purposes, such as medical treatment, study, skilled work, working holidays or other specialist activities. There are six main categories of temporary residents, which can cover stays of more than three months in Australia.

Note: Not all categories apply to migrants from each country.

Visitor visas

Visitor visas are mostly used by people visiting Australia for holidays, tourism and recreation, or to see family and friends. People may also use Visitor visas for certain short-term business activities that do not entail working in Australia.

Working Holiday Maker Program

The Working Holiday Maker Program allows young adults to have an extended holiday and engage in short-term work and study.

Student visa

The Student visa program enables international students to come to Australia to study full-time in a registered course.

Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa

Allows a business to sponsor a skilled overseas worker if they cannot find an appropriately skilled Australian citizen or permanent resident to fill a skilled position.

Other temporary visas

Other temporary visas include visas that allow people to undertake short-term, non-ongoing highly specialised work, enrich social and cultural development, strengthen international relations or provide training opportunities of benefit to Australia.

New Zealand citizens

Under the 1973 Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, New Zealand citizens can enter and leave Australia freely and live in Australia indefinitely on grant of a Special Category visa (subclass 444).

The following table shows the number of visa grants to migrants from Sri Lanka, for Visitor, Student and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas.

Table 2: Temporary visas granted by selected categories, 2019–20 to 2022–23
Temporary visa category2019–202020–212021–22​2022–23
Visitor22,6751,80113,05429,216
Student
6,8014,3275,52813,334
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment)8327641,5654,104
Other temporary visa grants 13,6562,5403,49211,862
Total temporary visa grants 33,964 9,432 23,639 58,516
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 Sri Lanka, based on Skill stream migration outcomes and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.

Table 3: Main occupations, 2019–20 to 2022–23
PeriodTemporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visasNo. of migrantsSkill stream migrationNo. of migrants
2022–23Motor mechanics332Accountants172
General practitioners and resident medical officers202Registered nurses140
Chefs176Software and applications programmers106
Software and applications programmers155Motor mechanics86
Other medical practitioners110Civil engineering professionals85
Cooks66Chefs84
Accountants64Early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers81
Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers61ICT business and systems analysts53
Bakers and pastrycooks55Secondary school teachers51
Specialist physicians49Other medical practitioners51
2021–22Software and applications programmers105Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers175
General practitioners and resident medical officers87Cooks70
Chefs85Database and systems administrators, and ICT security specialists67
Motor mechanics61Electrical engineers54
Accountants56ICT business and systems analysts46
Other medical practitioners47Mining engineers39
Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers39Anaesthetists32
Cooks21Metal casting, forging and finishing trades workers28

Bakers and pastrycooks

19Multimedia specialists and web developers22
Psychiatrists18Agricultural and forestry scientists20
2020–21General practitioners and resident medical officers81Accountants104
Other medical practitioners51Software and applications programmers72
Chefs20General practitioners and resident medical officers40
Accountants18Civil engineering professionals35
Software and applications programmers16Registered nurses30
Psychiatrists15Motor mechanics24
Motor mechanics14Electrical engineers23
Specialist physicians13Industrial, mechanical and production engineers23
Cooks11Other engineering professionals19
Civil engineering professionals10Other medical practitioners18
2019–20General practitioners and resident medical officers67Accountants152
Chefs35Software and applications programmers75
Motor mechanics32Registered nurses43
Cooks28Civil engineering professionals36
Software and applications programmers27General practitioners and resident medical officers36
Other medical practitioners23ICT business and systems analysts33
Accountants12Motor mechanics30
Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers12Chefs27
Psychiatrists10Cooks23
Specialist physicians8Other engineering professionals21
Source: Department of Home Affairs
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 by state and territory, based on permanent additions for the Skill and Family streams, international student visa grants, and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.

Table 4: Geographic distribution, by state and territory
​PopulationNSWVicQldSAWATasNT​ACT
Census 2021 (%)
Of all persons322620710212
Of Sri Lankan-born2452947113
​Permanent additions - 2022–23 (%)
Skill stream163810128863
Family and Child stream20561039012
Temporary visa grants - 2022–23 (%)
International student visa grants1152131010211
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa (primary) grants32361647122
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 migration from Sri Lanka for the past four financial years.

Table 5: Country ranking, 2019–20 to 2022–23
Ranked position of migrants2019–202020–212021–22​2022–23
Population in Australia 110101011
Regional8768
Employer Sponsored1413108
Total Skill stream1112129
Total Family and Child stream20261816
International students13131112
Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa141375
Visitors27162023
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs
1Population 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; 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
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