SKILLED DESIGNATED AREA SPONSORED VISA

The criteria for this visa may be easier for some applicants to meet than for other skilled categories, for example, the applicant may not have to have vocational English in some circumstances and there is no points test required for this visa. Applicants need to be skilled and have a relative willing to sponsor them. The sponsor can be their parent, child, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, grandparent or first cousin and live in a designated area.

This is a two-stage visa process with the applicant initially being granted a provisional visa then a permanent visa after living and working in the designated area for a set period of time. The applicant usually must be under 45 years of age and possess: good English skills plus recent skilled work experience within their qualifications which must be assessed as suitable for an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List.

SKILLED INDEPENDENT VISA

Applicants need to be under 45 years of age with an occupation gazetted as being a skilled occupation and possess good English language skills. Like all points-tested visa there are extra requirements that must be satisfied at the time of making the application. The applicant’s nominated skilled occupation must have been accessed by the recognised assessing authority and proof attached to the application when lodged. Persons finishing a course in Australia who apply for their visa within six months of completing their course are exempt from the work experience requirement.

Applicants who do not personally meet some of the requirements for this visa may be able to have their spouse’s skills and qualifications assessed in the same joint application which possibly may allow them both to qualify for this category of visa.

SKILLED INDEPENDENT STATE / TERRITORY NOMINATED VISA

Applicants who reach the pool mark and are nominated by a State or Territory government agency because their qualifications and skills are in demand in that area may apply for this permanent visa. The applicant’s qualifications must be assessed by the recognised assessing authority and they must have a minimum period of work experience within that occupation to qualify for the points. If you have qualifications and skills on the STNI List you may be sponsored by the Victorian Government for a permanent visa.

Applicants who have held the Skilled-independent Regional (Provisional) visa for a minimum period of two years are eligible to apply for this permanent visa.

SKILL MATCHING VISA

To attract migrants to areas of Australia where there is a skills shortage applicant’s details are entered onto a national database. State and Territory governments as well as regional employers are able to nominate a person with the qualifications and skills they are seeking. Applicants need to have their skills assessed as suitable for the occupation they have nominated to have their details entered onto the national database.

This visa is especially suitable for those who may not satisfy the points test because they may only have functional rather than vocational English skills if the nominating State or Territory has suitable English language training available. In this case there is an English language education charge.

EMPLOYER NOMINATION SCHEME VISA

Although applicants do not have to pass the points test for this visa they must be “highly skilled” which means having at least three years full-time training or equivalent experience and usually three years full-time work experience after training. The applicant must also be under 45 years of age and have vocational English unless exceptional circumstances exist.

The employer must show that there is a need for a highly skilled employee in that business and that they have been unable to find a suitably skilled Australian for the position through “labour market testing” and that the applicant would be employed in accordance with applicable Australian standards for wages and conditions.

SPOUSE / DE FACTO SPOUSE VISA

Permanent residency through a spouse or de facto spouse visa is generally a two-step process with a provisional visa being granted then the permanent visa after two years. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship assesses the relationship to determine whether a genuine and continuing relationship exists before granting permanent residence status.

BUSINESS OWNER / INVESTOR OR SENIOR EXECUTIVE VISA

Permanent residency may be applied for by business owners, persons willing to invest in Australia and senior executives after having held a provisional visa of a similar type for a period of time. There are several categories of visa including State / Territory sponsored visas. Before granting a permanent visa, policy requires the applicant to have participated in a business or investment successfully for a period of time, usually two out of the four years prior to making the application for the permanent visa.

FIANCÉ VISA

The prospective marriage visa must be applied for outside Australia and the applicant usually must be outside Australia when the visa is granted. The applicant and their Australian fiancé must marry within nine months. After marriage the applicant can apply for the spouse visa while in Australia. Each year the Australian government places a quota on the number of people who can apply for a visa in the various categories so the may be a limit on the number of fiancé visas which can be granted in each year.

SKILLED INDEPENDENT REGIONAL (PROVISIONAL) VISA

Applicants for this visa must be sponsored by a State or Territory government agency and be a skilled worker willing to live and work in regional Australia where their skills are most needed. This includes some low population growth metropolitan areas. The visa is valid for three years however after a minimum of two years and being employed for a minimum of one year during those two years the applicant can apply for permanent residence through one of three permanent regional visas. This is a points tested visa and can be applied for offshore and also by suitable students in Australia who have recently graduated. As with all points tested visas applicants are advised to concentrate on improving their English language skills as policy is constantly changing often requiring applicants to possess higher skills.

STUDENT VISA

People intending to undertake formal study in Australia for periods longer than three months must hold a student visa and can only study at educational institutions that are accredited and registered for that purpose by the Australian government. All courses are full-fee award and non-award, must be registered and are full-time at primary, secondary and post-secondary institutions. For overseas students’ protection in addition to the rules in the Migration Act and Migration Regulations the overseas education program is regulated under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 which established a National Code to regulated the education providers and their agents. Education providers are required to refund course fees if they fail to provide a course as agreed and cannot arrange for a suitable alternative course.

Depending on what passport the applicant holds and what subclass of student visa being applied for a five-tier assessment level regime applies. Students need to provide evidence of being a genuine student. The higher the assessment level applicable to a particular student the more evidence they need to provide about their English language ability, financial capacity and other matters such as academic ability, age and employment/career requirements.

VISITOR VISA

Visitors or tourists are able to apply for a number of different types of temporary visa to visit Australia temporarily. Usually these visas allow a visitor to stay for up to three months, a short stay visa, or up to six months, a long stay visa. These visa types cover holiday makers, tourists, people visiting relatives or friends and people visiting to have medical treatment. If a visitor visa application is refused there is usually no right to have the refusal reviewed. An applicant must try and find out the reasons for the refusal and then reapply in a new application and pay the application fee again. Rather than having to reapply again after an application is refused the applicant should ensure they have included enough supporting evidence in their application to show they are a genuine visitor / holiday maker and will comply with their visa conditions.

BUSINESS VISA

There are a number of business visas available. For example the subclass 456 visa allows business people to enter Australia for a short-term to explore business opportunities or take part in existing business activities. Such applicants need to show they have a genuine intention and need to come to Australia for business purposes. This means they must have relevant personal qualities and a business background related to their proposed stay in Australia. Applicants should provide details about their employment or business overseas their plans describing the purpose of the proposed visit and how this relates to their existing overseas employment or business.