AN analysis of enquiries by a leading migration specialist has revealed that Cambridgeshire is one of their top counties for emigration. The Emigration Group has dealt with more than 4841 enquiries in the last four months and Cambridgeshire is in the com

AN analysis of enquiries by a leading migration specialist has revealed that Cambridgeshire is one of their top counties for emigration.

The Emigration Group has dealt with more than 4841 enquiries in the last four months and Cambridgeshire is in the company's top 10 counties for emigration, representing almost 2% of all new enquiries.

Paul Arthur, director of The Emigration Group said: "Our company has experienced a huge volume of enquires from Cambridgeshire, in fact East England as a whole is an emigration hotspot, with counties such as Essex and Hertfordshire also in our top 10 for enquiries this year.

"Demand from East England has been so high that we are holding a seminar at the Holiday Inn, Thorpe Wood in Peterborough, on Sunday, 29th June, offering advice on successful emigration to Australia and New Zealand. This is an ideal opportunity for people to find out all they need to know about emigration at one local venue."

He added: "What Cambridgeshire and the rest of the UK is seeing, is essentially a brain drain. Our doctors, scientists, teachers and skilled trade's people are leaving to fill the huge skills shortages overseas. Britain is now losing more than one in 10 of its skilled workers."

"Australia and New Zealand are among the most popular choices. The figures from July 2006 to July 2007 show 12,273 Brits emigrated to New Zealand, three years earlier this figure was 8,165,* a 50% increase. Australia is no different, it has seen a massive increase - emigration numbers have tripled over the last five years - 24,800 Brits emigrated down under during 2006/7 compared to 8,749 in 2001/2."

Paul advises that there are many factors fuelling emigration in the UK, with unhappiness over current levels of immigration, crime and tax acting as major motivators. He said: "Many of the clients I advise are basically looking for a better life both for themselves and their children and they see emigration as a way of achieving this."

The huge shortfalls of skilled labour in Australia and New Zealand are also, according to Paul, acting as a major driving force for emigration. Immigration policies in these countries have been revised to actively encourage people to emigrate.

Paul adds: "The part the housing boom has played also can't be underestimated. Homeowners can sell up and find they've a large amount of equity which will go a long way Down Under, where average house prices and cost of living are far less. It's not just homeowners who approach us though, we have a lot of enquires from young people who want to migrate, purely because they're unable to get onto the property ladder in the UK."

"Looking ahead to the next ten years, I can only see that emigration will be on the increase as long as there is still a high demand for the skills Brits have to offer abroad."

For more information about the seminars or emigration to New Zealand and Australia, visit www.emigrationgroup.co.uk or call 0845 230 4391.