Australia has continued to be a prime destination for overseas immigration aspirants for the last few years. Every year thousands of individuals apply for Australian immigration to live, work, study or settle permanently in the land down under. Now, there are more reasons, particularly for skilled professionals, to apply for an Australian PR (Permanent Residence) visa. For the last few years, Australia has been inviting 160,000 permanent residents annually. However, to meet skill shortages across different states, for the program year 2022-23, the Australian government has raised this migration cap by 35,000. Hence, in 2022-23, Australia will accept 1 95000 new permanent residents. Here are a few more reasons to plan for immigration to Australia this program year.
Australia has lifted all Covid-19 restrictions
Due to the global pandemic that caused the situation, for the last two years, most advanced nations, including Australia, have kept their borders closed to travellers. However, Australia is one of the first few countries which have completely raised all Covid-19 restrictions. Hence, now, travellers from all over the world can move to Australia without requiring any exemption, etc.
Most State nomination programs invite offshore applicants
Now, Skilled Migration programs of most Australian states are inviting nominations applications from overseas skilled professionals. A few of these active and open Australian state nomination programs are:
• ACT (Australian Capital Territory) nomination program
• South Australia Skilled South Australias Skilled and Business Migration program
• Migration Queensland State Nomination Program
• Western Australia (WA) State nomination Migration Program
• Victoria Skilled Migration Program
All these programs nominate the applicants for Australia PR visa, i.e. Subclass 190 and provisional visa Subclass 491.
The rise in Skilled Migration visas places
Last year, the Department of Home Affairs, Australia, allocated 79,600 visa places for the Skilled Migration category. However, this year the DHA will accept an increased number of visa places, i.e. 109,900 for skilled migration. Moreover, this number is likely to go further up after the latest increase by DHA in the annual migration cap. This is encouraging news for skilled professionals looking for immigration to Australia.
Additional Occupations and Relaxed Requirements
Several states of Australia have expanded their list of in-demand occupations, i.e. relevant SOL (Skilled Occupation List), adding an increased number of occupations. This means now that skilled visa applicants will have a wide range of occupations to nominate. Moreover, key state nomination programs have also relaxed the nomination requirements for skilled visa applicants.
Key Visa Categories to apply
• Under the point-based General Skilled Migration (GSM) of Australia, you can apply for any of the three most popular skilled Visa categories, i.e.
• Skilled Independent Visa Subclass 189- Permanent Visa
• Skilled Nominated Visa Subclass 190- State nominated PR visa
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa Subclass 491- Regional 5-year visa (offers PR Pathway after 3 years)
• Key requirements to apply for a Skilled PR Visa in Australia
Check your occupation in the relevant SOL (Skilled Occupation List) of Australia.
• You must be under 45 years of age.
• Need to provide IELTS test result for English proficiency (minimum band 6 scores)
• Provide a Skill Assessment report from an approved assessing authority, i.e. ACS, AACA, VETASSESS, etc.
• Must obtain a minimum of 65 points out of 100 in the online SkillSelect System based on key profile factors, i.e. age, education, English language skills, work experience, etc.
• Need to submit a Medical certificate and Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) as and when asked by the visa office.
Other basic process requirements.
If you are interested in applying for a skilled visa in Australia this year, you may contact Visas Avenue- a leading and trusted Visa Consultancy Company associated with MARA members, to offer reliable visa solutions and services to visa applicants. Here are key services the Visas Avenue team offers to immigration applicants.