It seems that starting from 1 July 2022, steps were taken by the authorities to make permanent residency more accessible for skilled migrant workers who stayed in Australia during the pandemic.
Temporary Skill Shortage or TSS, subclass 482 visa holders who have lived in Australia for at least a year between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021 can opt for permanent residence as per the Temporary Residence Transition, or TRT stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme, or ENS subclass 186 visa.
What’s important to note here is that applicants are also required to fulfill the remaining nomination and visa requirements to apply for the ENS visa under the TRT stream.
Moreover, the government has confirmed that this pathway is also open to Medium-term stream TSS visa holders employed in a profession listed on the Regional Occupation List.
This pathway became available on 1 July 2022 with a life of two years. Plus, it is an addition to other Permanent Residency pathways for TSS visa holders employed in occupations mentioned on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List or STSOL.
Now sponsored visa holders employed in professions mentioned on the Regional Occupation List, or ROL, are also eligible for this pathway.
Let’s take a look at the eligibility criteria for this pathway that applicants are supposed to fulfill.
- Applicants holding subclass 482 visas should have been employed full-time in their nominated occupation for a minimum of three years in the last four years of being a visa holder.
- Applicants’ employers should be eligible to nominate them for a permanent position.
The Department has confirmed the availability of this pathway for the visa holders mentioned above. Plus, its availability is not dependent on any legislative changes.
Although this pathway’s pre-determined life is of 2 years, the Department has confirmed that the final decision to end or continue this route to permanent residence will be made by the Government after 1 July 2024.
You may visit the Department of Home Affairs website for more information.
