The Australian visa system is excessively complicated. Even the Australian government acknowledges this fact. The Australian government has initiated a review process of the immigration system, which will be concluded by the end of February 2023. Meanwhile, the present system will go on as it is, so if you are looking to immigrate to Australia, let us look at what is the best visa you can apply for.
Acquiring an offer of employment from an employer who is willing to act as your sponsor in Australia is definitely an option, but it can be costly and demanding on the part of the employer. The employer would prefer you to bear a General Skilled Migration visa (GSM). These visas are either permanent resident visas or provisional resident visas that grant full work rights, therefore increasing your chances of getting a job.
The processing time for a GSM visa is slow and initially more costly in regard to government application fees, but these visas pay for themselves because they significantly improve your employment options and the ability to maximise your earning potential without having to bear the cost of travelling to Australia, spending months in search of that one employer who is willing to engage the Visa process, especially without exhausting your resources at home, including resigning from your job.
Basically, there are two main types of GSM visas which are as follows:+
- Independent visas that don’t require nomination by a state or family; and
- Family-sponsored or state-nominated visas.
What Is The Best Type Of General Skilled Migration Visa?
A Permanent Resident Visa is the best kind of GSM visa. The two types of GSM visa, the Independent visa – Subclass 189 and the State nominated Permanent Resident Visa – Subclass 190, are both unconditional permanent resident visas. None of these visas have any specific requirements attached to them. These visas permit you to live in metropolitan or regional parts of Australia.
Metropolitan Australia refers to big cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and the rest of Australia is known as regional Australia, including many major cities like Perth and Adelaide.
How Can You Obtain These Visas?
You have to submit an electronic form called an Expression Of Interest (EOI) which is placed in a group of applicants for a period of two years. Before you can do this, you must have the results of an English-language and skills assessment test.
In the EOI, you state an interest in the visa types you are interested in. You can only apply for the residence visa application once you are invited to apply, and there are several ways in which you can get an invitation. Either because your EOI is picked from the group for an independent visa or a state government has nominated you for a permanent visa.
How Many Points Do You Need?’
You will have to get a pass mark for an independent visa. How this applies depends on several factors, which are as follows:
- The yearly quota of independent visas for your specific ‘nominated’ profession, eg, Electrician, Nurse and Secondary School Teacher.
- The professions you choose or nominate for yourself as different professions have different pass marks and largely reflect the requirements of the Australian economy.
The scores of participating applicants in pursuit of a position in the exact occupation as you have nominated.
However, you could have your options open by mentioning your willingness to apply for a State nominated permanent resident visa and mentioning the states that you are interested in on your EOI.
You can also express your intention to live in regional Australia when you submit the Expression of Interest. This would qualify you for a five-year provisional residence visa with specific requirements attached, such as the conditions to live and work in regional Australia but offers you a secure pathway to getting permanent residence.
Likewise, if you have a family member living in regional Australia and your profession appears on a select list of professions that are in huge demand in Australia nationwide, you can express your interest in the family-sponsored visa when submitting the Expression of Interest.
Your completed EOI depicts the kinds of visas you are interested in. The type of visa you apply for is not entirely up to you and is dependent on the kind of visa that you have been invited to apply for, either through selection from a group of applicants because you scored enough points or through a state government willing to nominate you and they get to decide if they will choose you for the unconditional permanent resident visa or the regional conditional visa.
The State Sponsorship
States determine the benchmarks for state nomination in their state nomination lists of professions. The list of professions is defined by states individually and according to the needs of that state’s economy. Each state creates their own list of occupations usually around July every year.
States sometimes will choose a specific profession for the permanent resident visa or the provisional visa depending on the following criteria:
- Applicant’s location (onshore compared to offshore)
- The candidate’s score
- If the candidate studied or is working in that state
- The applicant’s years of experience. Some states prefer more experienced applicants
- English-language proficiency
- And the type of profession. Certain professions are only available for the permanent resident visa and some for the provisional visa.
If we look into the example of New South Wales nominating interior designers and secondary school teachers for the 190 visa. Secondary school teachers will need 70 points and won’t need to have any work experience, but on the other hand, interior designers need 80 points and two years of prior work experience.
Keeping in mind that Australia is going through extreme skill shortages across almost all professions, it’s possible that one could get numerous invitations to apply from different states.
After getting an invitation to apply for the visa, you have 60 days, and you must be able to assess the opportunity presented to you. In some occupations, candidates don’t have to take the first invitation they get, while in other occupations, the candidate needs to accept whatever they can get.
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