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    Country profile - Syria

    ​​Population

    At the end of June 2024, 36,610 Syrian-born people were living in Australia. This was more than 3 times the number (11,540) at 30 June 2014. This makes the Syrian-born population the 47th largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to:

    • 0.4% of Australia's overseas-born population
    • 0.1% of Australia's total population.

    For Australia's Syrian-born migrants:

    • The median age of 40.5 years was 2.2 years above that of the general population.
    • Females outnumbered males—50.3% compared with 49.7%.

    (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s Population by Country of Birth)

    Permanent migration

    Australia's permanent Migration Program comprises economic and family migration and is the main pathway to permanent residence. The only other way to obtain permanent residence is on humanitarian grounds.

    Find out more about permanent migration.​

    This table shows the size of permanent migration (including humanitarian) from Syria by migration category.​

    Table 1: Permanent migrant places granted, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Migration category

    2021–22

    2022–23

    2023–24

    2024–25

    Business Innovation and Investment 1

    0

    >-5

    0

    0

    Employer Sponsored

    37

    21

    20

    12

    Skilled Independent

    0

    10

    29

    <5

    State/Territory Nominated

    <5

    6

    16

    <5

    Regional

    0

    <5

    34

    12

    Global Talent (Independent) 2

    <5

    10

    0

    0

    National Innovation 3

    n/a

    n/a

    n/a

    0

    Partner

    135

    131

    154

    395

    All other categories 4

    17

    12

    7

    22

    Total places granted

    189

    190

    260

    441

    Humanitarian Program

    Offshore resettlement component 5

    1,268

    1,192

    2,804

    2,804

    Onshore protection component 6

    37

    <5

    30

    48

    Source: Department of Home Affairs

    1We closed the Business Innovation and Investment Program to new applications on 31 July 2024.  Note: If we cancelled a Business Innovation and Investment visa granted in an earlier year, the place is returned to the program in the year of cancellation.
    2We closed the Global Talent visa  to new applications on 6 December 2024. We replaced this with the National Innovation visa.
    3The National Innovation visa came into effect on 7 December 2024.
    4 Data has been perturbed to protect the privacy of individuals.

    Note: To protect the privacy of individuals, we have applied various data confidentiality techniques. These include:

    • data masking — using primary and secondary suppression methods for values that we deemed to be a disclosure risk
    • perturbation — a data security technique that allows for random data adjustment to prevent the release of identifiable data.

    5We extracted data from departmental systems on 7 July 2025. As information has been drawn from dynamic system environments the information provided may differ from previous or future reporting.
    6We extracted data from departmental systems on 14 November 2025. As information has been drawn from dynamic system environments the information provided may differ from previous or future reporting.

    Temporary migration

    People can come to Australia for a temporary stay for a range of purposes that may include tourism, study and short-term work.

    Find out more about temporary migration.​

    This table shows the number of visa grants to migrants of Syria for Visitor, Student and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas.​

    Table 2: Temporary visas granted by selected categories, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Temporary visa category

    2021–22

    2022–23

    2023–24

    2024–25

    Visitor

    65

    491

    352

    384

    Student

    10

    33

    24

    12

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment)

    20

    27

    46

    33

    Other temporary visa grants 1

    19

    90

    79

    41

    Total temporary visa grants

    114

    641

    501

    470

    Source: Department of Home Affairs

    1Excludes Transit visa (subclass 771), Border visa (subclass 773) and Maritime Crew visa (subclass 988).

    Main occupations

    This table shows the main occupations for nationals of Syria, based on Skill stream migration outcomes and Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa grants.​

    ​
    Table 3: Main occupations, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Period

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visas

    No. of migrants

    Skill stream migration

    No. of migrants

    2024–25 

    General practitioners and resident medical officers

    <5

    Civil engineering professionals

    <5

    Other engineering professionals

    <5

    Other engineering professionals

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    <5

    Hotel and motel managers

    <5

    Advertising, public relations and sales managers

    <5

    Dental practitioners

    <5

    Construction managers

    <5

    Medical technicians

    <5

    Electrical engineers

    <5

    Hairdressers

    <5

    Complementary health therapists

    <5

    Other personal service workers

    <5

    Specialist physicians

    <5

     

     

    Medical technicians

    <5

     

     

    ICT support technicians

    <5

    2023–24

    Chefs

    <5

    Construction managers

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    <5

    Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers

    <5

    Construction managers

    <5

    Civil engineering professionals

    <5

    Database and systems administrators, and ICT security specialists

    <5

    Industrial, mechanical and production engineers

    <5

    Hairdressers

    <5

    Pharmacists

    <5

    Advertising, public relations and sales managers

    <5

    Management and organisation analysts

    <5

    Cafe and restaurant managers

    <5

    Graphic and web designers, and illustrators

    <5

    Civil engineering professionals

    <5

    Electrical engineers

    <5

    Other engineering professionals

    <5

    University lecturers and tutors

    <5

    Computer network professionals

    <5

    Multimedia specialists and web developers

    <5

    2022–23

    Bakers and pastrycooks

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    5

    Cafe and restaurant managers

    <5

    Construction managers

    <5

    Hotel and motel managers

    <5

    Industrial, mechanical and production engineers

    <5

    Economists

    <5

    Specialist physicians

    <5

    Electrical engineers

    <5

    Cafe and restaurant managers

    <5

    General practitioners and resident medical officers

    <5

    Interior designers

    <5

    Specialist physicians

    <5

    Civil engineering professionals

    <5

    ICT business and systems analysts

    <5

    Other engineering professionals

    <5

    Multimedia specialists and web developers

    <5

    Secondary school teachers

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    <5

    Pharmacists

    <5

    2021–22  

    Specialist physicians

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    5

    Auditors, company secretaries and corporate treasurers

    <5

    Chefs

    <5

    Software and applications programmers

    <5

    Cafe and restaurant managers

    <5

    ICT support technicians

    <5

    Accountants

    <5

    Chefs

    <5

    Other engineering professionals

    <5

     

    		 

    Life scientists

    <5

     

    		 

    General practitioners and resident medical officers

    <5

     

    		 

    Other medical practitioners

    <5

     

    		 

    Ministers of religion

    <5

     

     

    Dental hygienists, technicians and therapists

    <5

    Source: Department of Home Affairs

    Note: To protect the privacy of individuals, we have applied various data confidentiality. These include:

    • data masking — using primary and secondary suppression methods for values that we 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. It is based on Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations at the unit level.

    Geogra​​phic distribution

    This table shows where migrants reside by state and territory, based on:

    • 2021 Census
    • permanent additions, for the:
      • Skill and Family streams,
      • offshore resettlement component of the Humanitarian Program.
    • visa grants for:
      • international students
      • Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa primary applicants.​
    Table 4: Geographic distribution by state and territory

    Population

    NSW

    Vic

    Qld

    SA

    WA

    Tas

    NT

    ACT

    Census 2021 (%)

    Of all persons

    32

    26

    20

    7

    10

    2

    1

    2

    Of Syrian-born

    58

    27

    6

    5

    3

    0

    0

    1

    Permanent additions - 2024–25 (%)

    Humanitarian Program 1

    51

    28

    8

    7

    4

    1

    0

    2

    Skill stream

    43

    22

    14

    3

    19

    0

    0

    0

    Family stream

    54

    32

    6

    4

    3

    0

    0

    1

    Temporary visa grants- 2024–25 (%)

    International student visa grants

    67

    0

    22

    0

    11

    0

    0

    0

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa (primary) grants

    42

    33

    8

    0

    17

    0

    0

    0

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Home Affairs

    1Data pertains to offshore Humanitarian Settler Arrivals.

    Note: Permanent additions consist of 2 components:

    • people who, while already in Australia on a temporary basis, are granted permanent residence status
    • people who have subsequently arrived from overseas during the reporting period and are entitled to stay permanently in Australia.

    Coun​​​try ranking

    This table uses rankings to show the significance of Syrian migration for the past 4 financial years.​

    Table 5: Country ranking, 2021–22 to 2024–25

    Ranked position of migrants

    2021–22

    2022–23

    2023–24

    2024–25

    Population in Australia 1

    49

    48

    48

    48

    Regional

    n/a

    90

    45

    60

    Employer Sponsored

    56

    71

    70

    84

    Total Skill stream

    71

    75

    56

    79

    Total Family and Child stream

    52

    47

    41

    24

    International students

    129

    118

    117

    130

    Temporary Resident (Skilled Employment) visa

    77

    86

    78

    86

    Visitors

    117

    106

    111

    107

    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 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

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