Golden Era Migration General Skilled Migration Visas

General Skilled Migration Visas let people from other countries move to Australia without having to get their visas sponsored by an employer. To apply for a general skilled migration visa, you must be trained in a job in demand in Australia. People can apply for available skilled migration visas based on things like their job, work experience, education, and how well they speak English.

General Skilled Migration is the most common way to move to Australia permanently because it lets visa holders get permanent work visas without being tied to one employer.

• Work and go to school in Australia.
• Get care from the government.
• Let your kids go to a public school.
• It doesn’t require an employer to sponsor your visa
• Permanent visas are 189 or 190.
• After three years, you can get a PR with a 491 visa.

To be eligible for this visa, Applicant must

• be nominated to apply by a state or territory government agency, or
• an eligible relative must sponsor you
• have an occupation on a relevant skilled occupation list
• have a suitable skills assessment for the occupation
• be invited to apply
• Able to score 65 points or more
• Have at least Competent English
• meet health requirement
• meet character requirement
• aged under 45

If granted, the applicant can

• stay in Australia for 5 years
• live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want, while the visa is valid
• apply for permanent residence after 3 years from the time your visa is granted
• work in any occupation

The Skilled Regional (Provisional) Subclass 489 visa closed to new applicants on 11 September 2019 and will be replaced by the new will be replaced by the new Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa.

Most of the criteria for the visa will be comparable to those for the present subclass 489 visa (which will cease when this visa comes in). The applicant will still need to be sponsored by a family member residing in a designated area as described above, or nominated by a state or territory. The candidate must be under 45 years of age, speak English well, and pass the points test to receive an invitation to apply for the visa.

The visa will have severe reporting and compliance requirements, and it will only be valid for 5 years if the primary applicant and all their family members solely live, work, and study in the designated regional area.

You are eligible to apply for a Subclass 191 Permanent Resident (Skilled Regional) visa after three years of having a Subclass 491 visa. You must have complied with all visa requirements and present three years’ worth of tax assessment letters demonstrating taxable income over a predetermined threshold (the amount has not yet been announced).

There have been some changes for all points-tested Skilled visa applications from 16 November 2019. New points will be available as follows:

• If you have a companion that is proficient in English (the current requirement), you will receive 10 points instead of 5.
• You will additionally receive 10 points if you do not have a partner or if your partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• Five points can be earned if your partner is the only one who speaks fluent English.
• Specialist education points, which are earned when you enroll in a Master’s or PhD programme in one of the CRICOS-defined wide or narrow disciplines, will rise from 5 to 10 points.
• Also increasing from 10 to 15 points are designated regional nomination or sponsorship points.

The second stage of the skilled regional visa is subclass 887, which grants permanent residence to the applicant who currently have a skilled regional provisional visa, including:

• Skilled Regional (Provisional) Subclass 491

To be eligible for this visa, the applicant must

• hold an eligible visa or
• have held an eligible visa that expired outside Australia during the concession period
• have lived for at least 2 years and worked full time for at least 1 year in a specified regional area, unless COVID-19 concessions apply
• have complied with the conditions of the eligible visa you hold or have held
• Meet health requirement
• Meet character requirement
• Sign the Australian value statement

If granted the applicant can

• Stay in Australia permanently
• work and study anywhere in Australia
• enrol in Medicare- Australia’s public health care scheme
• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years

The main criteria for this visa are as follow

• Residence in a Regional Area:  You have spent the last two years in Australia on a temporary skilled visa. If sponsored by a State or Territory Government, you must have resided in a regional or low population growth area of Australia at that time. If sponsored by an Australian relative, you must have done so in a Designated Area.
• Work Experience: You have worked in Australia for at least 12 months; this experience need not have been in a skilled field, but it must have been full-time (at least 35 hours per week) and in a regional location.

Gives rise to the granting of a permanent visa with full rights to work and study in Australia. Additionally, the travel facility is valid for five years.

For additional information, schedule an immigration consultation with one of our experienced agents at GEMG, if you presently have a provisional skilled visa and want to talk about switching to a permanent visa.