Love is in the air

When her new husband immigrated to Australia just three months after their Anzac Day wedding in 2004, 21-year-old Kanika Puri became part of the largest and fastest-growing group of spouses seeking a new life down under.

Last year, 2782 Indian brides, sponsored overwhelmingly by men of Indian birth, arrived in Australia, compared with 496 husbands brought out by women.

Eleven years ago, just 434 Indian brides were sponsored and 149 men, meaning there has been a six-fold increase. The next largest group is British men. According to immigration figures obtained by The Weekend Australian, Australian women brought out 2259 in 2007-08, compared with 1862 British women sponsored by our men -- virtually unchanged from 11 years ago.

After that there is China, with 2409 women and 1243 men coming to our shores; and then The Philippines with 1158 women and just 318 men. This compares with 455 Bangladeshi brides who called Australia home in 2007-08, and 92 husbands, up from a base of 79 and 34 respectively in 1996-97.

Immigration expert Bob Birrell said the growth in Indian spouse sponsorship proved the immigration program had "a life of its own". "Visas issued under the spouse and fiancée program have grown from 25,500 in 1996-97 to 39,931 in 2007-08," Professor Birrell, from Monash University said, "This is very substantial growth and illustrates the dynamics of the program, which has recently been boosted by the Labour Government largely to keep a lid on the price of labour.

"Most of the growth in spouses and fiancées is from non-English-speaking countries. That reflects the stock of people who have migrated here in recent years who are now looking for a spouse. They are in a good position to attract a partner from their homeland because movement to Australia is such an attractive option."

Professor Birrell said once a country had a "pioneer community from a place like Bangladesh, where there is enormous pressure to get out, the spouse numbers can rise dramatically". "Mostly it is men going back for a bride."

The surge in Indian spouses reflected the big surge in Indian migration. "There is a lot of interest in leaving India and an Indian-born person with Australian permanent residence who is looking for a spouse is in a favourable situation in selecting an attractive partner," he said.

Ms Puri met her future husband, Ankur, in her hometown of New Delhi in January 2004. They were married on April 25 and she was in Australia by July of that year. "It was an arranged marriage," said Mr. Puri, who works for a telecommunications company. He said the couple were introduced and given a month to get to know each other.

"We were given a chance to go around for a month. Our parents asked us to meet but then it was a decision for us to make whether we went ahead or not. It's not binding. If you like each other that's fine; if you don't, we could have backed out."

Mr. Puri, 30, originally from Cawnpore, said it was good that more Indians were coming to Australia. "It's good to have a multicultural environment over here. Indians are good in terms of improving society in Australia and in technical fields," he said.

"It's good for the economy as well because Australia needs more residents."

Ms Puri, 24, an insurance broker, said she and Ankur "liked each other straight away" and she was enjoying "every single minute" in Australia. "It is now my home."

She said she had been "very welcomed in Australia". "I love the beach and the way everyone has a passion for barbies."