woocommerce domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/indianav/migratetosunnyaustralia.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131Every year thousands of people apply for Australian work visas. Many have the mindset that after having experienced the Australian work culture and lifestyle, they would decide whether to apply for permanent residency or not.
In our experience, we have hardly ever come across anyone who doesn’t wish to apply for permanent residency at a later stage.
Unfortunately, people do not realise that legislation and regulations related to Australian permanent residency keep changing and are becoming tougher by the day.
Applicants set the wheels in motion for their prospects of applying for permanent residency when they decide to lodge a Work Visa or Regional Visa to come to Australia.
Let’s look closely at the pros and cons of the popular Work Visa (482) and the soon to be introduced Skilled Regional Provisional Visa (491) and Regional Employer Sponsored Work Visa (494).
There are two streams for lodging a Work Visa (482) application.
– Short Term Stream
– Medium & Long Term Stream.
If an applicant’s chosen occupation is listed on the Short Term Skilled Occupation List then, they can only apply for a short term (2 year validity) work visa which can be renewed only once.
If the applicant’s chosen occupation is listed on the Medium & Long Term Skilled Occupation List then, they can apply for a long term (4 year validity) work visa which can be renewed unlimited number of times.
Skills Assessment
Depending on the nationality and the selected occupation of the applicant a Skills Assessment might be required. This process can take 3-4 months to complete. It is advised that applicants give this process immense priority as it ultimately determines their eligibility to apply for Work Visa
English Requirements
For Short Term Stream (482) Work Visa, English requirements are as follows:
IELTS (minimum score of 4.5 in each component)
PTE (minimum score of 30 in each component)
For Medium and Long Term Stream (482) Work Visa, English requirements are as follows:
IELTS (minimum score 5 in each component)
PTE (minimum score of 36 in each component)
Work experience
For both streams a minimum of 2 years full time employment experience is required.
If the applicant holds a Medium & Long Term Stream (482) work Visa then, they can apply for employer sponsored permanent residency after having worked for their employer for a minimum of 3 years.
First and foremost, this is an employer sponsored visa and requires an eligible employer or sponsor to offer a job to the applicant in order to lodge a work visa.
If candidate or the employer don’t meet each other’s expectations then, the applicant must find another job to transfer their nomination and this can be a major inconvenience for the visa holder.
An applicant holding a Medium & Long Term Work Visa may apply for employer sponsored permanent residency however, this again depends on the applicant’s work relation with their employer.
If for any reason the employer doesn’t wish to nominate the visa holder for permanent residency then, the applicant cannot apply for it.
Short Term Stream Work Visa holders are not eligible to apply for employer sponsored permanent residency at all.
After holding a Work Visa for two times in a row, an applicant must leave Australia and re apply for the Work Visa from offshore.
Short Term Stream Work Visa holders may be eligible to apply for permanent residency only if they have worked for their employer for three years in a regional area and their occupation is listed on the Regional Occupation List.
This new visa will be introduced on the 16th November 2019 and will have 14,000 places allocated per year for it.
It is essentially a replacement for the now defunct Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (489) and will be a point-based State Government or Family Sponsored skilled migration visa.
Upon its grant, the visa will be valid for 5 years.
Skills Assessment
This is a must for all applicants regardless of their nationality or level of work experience.
It is advised that applicants give this process immense priority as it ultimately determines their eligibility to apply for this visa.
English Requirements
All applicants must have competent level of English, IELTS (minimum score of 6 in each component) or PTE (minimum score of 50 in each component)
At the time of application, an applicant must be below 45 years of age
An applicant must score at least 65 pts on general skilled migration points scheme. Points are granted for a variety of factors such as Age, English proficiency, Work experience, Educational Qualifications, Marital Status etc.
Australian Immigration will provide priority processing for this visa and the Federal Government has also announced that 70 additional occupations will be available for this visa type.
Visa holders and their family members will be eligible to access Australian Medicare System.
If the visa holder works and resides for 3 years in specified Regional area (excluding, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Perth) then, they will be eligible to apply for Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa 191.
Visa holders are free to work and switch employment with any employer, can also work for multiple employers.
Disadvantages
While holding this visa, a visa holder cannot apply for any other visa type for at least 3 years.
This is yet another new regional visa to be introduced on 16th November 2019 and will have 9000 places allocated for it per year.
It is essentially an employer sponsored work visa supersedes Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme -187 Visa and will have a validity of 5 years upon its grant.
Skills Assessment
This is a must for all applicants regardless of their nationality or level of experience.
We recommend that applicants give this process immense priority as it ultimately determines their eligibility to apply for this visa.
Work experience
Applicants are also required to have a minimum of 3 years of work experience in the selected occupation for which they intend to lodge this visa
English Requirements
Applicants must have competent level of English, IELTS (minimum score of 6 in each component) or PTE (minimum score of 50 in each component)
At the time of application, an applicant must be below 45 years of age
Advantages
Priority processing of the visa applications will be carried out by Australian Immigration.
Federal government has also announced that 450 additional occupations will be available for this visa type.
Visa holders and their family members will be eligible to access Australian Medicare System.
Visa holders are also eligible to apply directly for permanent residency after having earned a minimum taxable income for at least three years.
Disadvantages
While it offers many advantages over Work Visa (482), the application of eventual permanent residency depends on continued employment sponsorship for at least 3 years.
We encourage applicants to choose wisely the type of visa they intend to apply for.
It is important to have a long-term perspective in mind and one must preferably consider steps required in becoming a permanent resident. It should be noted that it is becoming more and more tough to attain Australian Permanent Residency.
In our view, Skilled Work Regional Provisional Visa (491) provides a more flexible approach to becoming an Australian Permanent Resident and we recommend that applicants give this visa a serious consideration.
We are up to date and familiar with relevant legislation pertaining to these visa types and shall continue to cover any changes announced for these visa programs.
For an assessment of how these changes impact your visa application and your business please contact us or book a consultation.
