Thinking of Migrating to Australia From Singapore? Read This First.

A popular reason for people migrating from Singapore to Australia is to move for studies, tourism, work and settle down throughout the last few decades.

The appeal could be because a flight from Changi airport to the nearest major city in Australia (Perth) is only about 4-5 hours, or around 7 hours to get to Melbourne or Sydney.

Over the years this has seen tens of thousands of new migrants from Singapore arrive in Australia with their families.

Singapore sends over 400,000 visitors a year to Australia, as well as 1500 new migrants and at any one time there are tens of thousands of International students living and studying throughout the country.

This information is available from Australia’s bureau of statistics.

Australia is hungry for skilled workers from many fields and with over 400 occupations on their skilled occupation lists, many people can qualify.

However, the highest in-demand occupations we have found in Singapore include:

• Accountants
• Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers
• Electronics Engineer
• Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers
• Other Engineering Professionals
• ICT Business and System Analysts
• Software and Applications Programmers
• Computer Network Professionals
• Teachers (degree holders)
• Registered Nurses (degree holders)
• Marketing and communications executives

There are a few steps required in migrating to Australia from Singapore but it is the same process regardless of where you are from.

Medicare is the public healthcare system of Australia. It gives free access to public hospitals and heavily subsidises certain medications.

• There are no ‘different level’of public hospitals you have to choose from based on fee coverage, it covers them all
• There is no priority queue for citizens – PR holders are treated equally

There are only public or private schools in Australia. Citizens and residents can go to any public school they live near, on a first come, first served basis.

• There are no ‘selection rounds’ for citizens first, alumni next etc.
• Tuition fees for public schools is free for permanent residents
• You can rent a house within 2 km of a school and immediately you can apply for it
• The Australian education system is about academics and extra curricular learning. They teach children to learn through experience, trial and error – no just by school books alone

As a PR, you can buy any property, anywhere in Australia and there is no surcharge for doing so. Stamp duty and the associated costs are the same for PR and citizens.

• A 2 bedroom (4 room) house in Melbourne can be as low as AUD300-450k, about the same price as an HDB in Singapore
• All property is freehold
• No permission required to buy property, as long as the seller is willing to take your offer the property is yours
• Most homes are on anywhere between 3000 – 6000 square feet of land

Brand new cars in Australia can cost less than the COE in Singapore. A typical 4 door sedan is around AUD20 – 30k, with second-hand cars being as low as AUD3 – 5k.

• No COE
• Cars can be owned for more than 10 years
• No 200% tax on cars

There are many more benefits as a resident, but here are just a few:

• Social security benefits
• Child care benefits
• Pension
• Qualify for bank loans
• First home owner’s grant
• Start or buy business
• Study at university for cheaper rates

There are many Singaporeans who have becomes household names in Australia, including…

Sashikumar Cheliah who is a Singaporean-born Australian prison officer and television cook. He was a contestant on the tenth series of MasterChef Australia in 2018, eventually winning the show.