Some of the more recent immigration news deals with the Working Holiday Visa (WHV) for Australia, which is proving to be a hot ticket in today’s teetering economic landscape. According to the Australian Department of Immigration, nearly 21,000 of these visas were granted between July and December of 2008, up from just over 17k during the same period of 2007, and all were specifically issued to Britons between the ages of 18 and 30.

The government is trying to straddle the line between providing economic stability and maintaining their overseas appeal. Making sure that Australian citizens have jobs is their first and foremost concern, but at the same time there are thousands of immigrants coming over from not only the UK, but other countries, and Australia needs these newcomers as well to keep the economy moving ahead.

What is unclear at this point, however, is whether or not the number of immigrants is due to the overall appeal of Australia and a lower cost of living with relatively the same wages as back home, or if it’s simply an outbreak of people fleeing the dire economic situation in the UK.

2009 is going to be another year of looking elsewhere for jobs as people in the UK and the US in particular continue to deal with rapidly rising unemployment rates and government bailouts. So long as Australia can continue to provide jobs, the immigrants will continue to arrive, and for many Britons, it can mean the difference between money in the bank and living on the streets.