Originally Posted by Latindancer
"The great majority of 'illegals' have arrived legally, and overstayed their tourist, student or other short-term visas. The true extent of illegal entry is unknown with certainty; detection figures obviously reflect only the minimum number. However, it would appear that those who arrive illegally, that is without a valid entry visa, by boat or plane, comprise a relatively small (in the order of 10 per cent) albeit rapidly growing proportion of Australia's illegal population. In recent years, illegal air arrivals have outnumbered illegal boat arrivals, however in 1999 the ratio was reversed, with boat arrivals outnumbering air arrivals.