Thank you for taking the time to complete our online enquiry form.
One of our Registered Migration Agents will endeavor to review your enquiry and contact you as soon as possible.
We will contact you to advise if we believe you may be eligible to submit an Australian visa and if applicable, make a booking for a consultation and detailed assessment.
The Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa subclass 494 was opened for new applications from 16 November 2019. It replaces the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa subclass 187.
The Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa allows skilled workers to be sponsored by an Australian employer in a designated regional area for up to five years. To be eligible to apply for the subclass 494 visa, employer sponsors and visa applicants must meet certain eligibility criteria.
With this visa you can live, work and study in designated regional areas of Australia only (designated regional areas are defined as any area excluding Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – Note: Gold Coast is classified as a regional area).
Unlike the RSMS 187 visa, the 494 visa does not grant immediate permanent residency, however a 494 visa holder may be eligible to apply for the new Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191) (open to applications from 16 November 2022), when the following is met:
The 494 visa is advantageous as it is open to an extensive amount of occupations that are not otherwise available in other visa programs. Contacting a skilled migration agent who can put together a clear plan for pursing the subclass 494 is an important first step.
If you believe you qualify for the above visa and want some further information and assistance, please contact us via our online enquiry form.
This is a great opportunity for regional migrants especially with the entire Gold Coast region being open to the subclass 494 program. Contact us now to get started on your progress towards permanent residency.
TSS 482 Visa is the short name provided by the Department of Home Affairs. TSS 482 Visa refers to the Temporary Skill Shortage subclass 482 visa program. The program was introduced as a replacement to the long standing subclass 457 Temporary Skilled Work visa program
As the name suggests, the TSS visa is a skilled temporary visa. Visa holders can live and work in Australia for the duration of the visa period. The application process has three stages:
We assist employers and visa applicants with each stage of the TSS visa program. Please contact us for an initial consultation and we can assess eligibility and discuss key requirements before proceeding with the application process.
It is therefore more important than ever to ensure all documents and information are gathered and supplied at the time of lodgement. In particular, we have seen applications completed by employers where the labour market testing (LMT) requirements had not been addressed to the very specific requirements. This can be very costly as the generally the only remedy to nominations refused under LMT requirements is to recomplete LMT and relodge the nomination with additional government fees being outlaid.
If you believe you qualify for the above visa and want some further information and assistance, please contact us via our online enquiry form.
The Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417) is a temporary visa for people aged 18-30 (inclusive) who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year, except for Canadian, French and Irish citizens who can be aged 18-35 (inclusive). It is expected that the age limit for the United Kindgom will also increase to 35 years in 2022. The visa is designed as a temporary visa to encourage cultural exchange between Australia and eligible countries. Although this is the primary purpose, many working holiday visa holders enjoy their time in Australia and seek further opportunities to stay. Further detail is outlined below:
To apply for Working Holiday Visa subclass 417, you must hold a valid passport from a country involved in the Working Holiday Program with Australia. Eligible countries are:
Note there are some additional requirements for each individual country and some countries have limited number of visas available under the program each financial year.
It is possible to attain a second subclass 417 visa for a further 1 year period if you:
A separate program but similar to the working holiday visa the subclass 462 visa is available for applicants aged 18-30 years from the following countries:
Additional criteria for each country applies and a second year can also be attained for completing specified work in designated area north Australia.
From 1 July 2019, subclass 417 visa holders who carry out 6 months of specified work in regional areas while on their second subclass 417 or 462 visa may be eligible to apply for a third visa. Eligible types of work and regional areas will correspond with the requirements for the second visa.
Note: The 6 months work must all be carried out on or after 1 July 2019.
If you hold a subclass 417 or 462 visa and looking to remain in Australia, please contact us. We have assisted many applicants transfer to various visas including:
If you believe you qualify for any of the above visas and want some further information and assistance, please contact us via our online enquiry form.
The subclass 457 visa program was closed to new applications from 18 March 2018. To transition from a subclass 457 to permanent residence can be complicated.
If you currently hold a subclass 457 visa and are seeking to transition to permanent residence we can assist. Whether 457 to permanent residence transition is possible will depend on a number of factors including:
If you held a 457 visa but now hold a subclass 482 TSS visa, there may still be concessions for you to transition to permanent residence.
To ensure you do not miss out on an opportunity, please contact us via our online enquiry form and we can look to arrange a consultation and discuss you your options.
There are a number of skilled work visa options available under the Australian visa program. The employer nominated/sponsored options are outlined in separate sections of our website and include:
Employer sponsored visas make up a significant percentage of annual visas approved, however some individuals may be better placed to pursue a more general and other skilled migration options including:
– Sponsored by an eligible relative: for family sponsored the family member must be an Australian Citizen or permanent resident, a close family member and be living in a postcode designated regional area. In addition family sponsored applicants must have an occupation on a Skilled Occupation List.
– Sponsored/nominated by an Australian State or Territory Government agency.
For Small Business Owners in Queensland, a new Small Business Owners (SBO) pathway was open to applications on 11 December 2019. Please note that the SBO pathway is currently only available to applicants who will be located in designated regional Queensland.
The 491 visa does not grant immediate permanent residency, however a 491 visa holder may be eligible to apply for the new Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191) (open to applications from 16 November 2022).
The above skilled work visa options operate under an Expression of Interest (EOI) process where individuals submit an expression to apply for the relevant visa. Twice a month the Department of Home Affairs provide invitations to apply. Noting this process, we outline the following important considerations if you are considering pursuit of general skilled work visa:
1. Documents to support the claims should be attained and available before submitting the EOI for example:
– Applicants claiming points for English ability must have results from a relevant prescribed test to support these points. This includes applicants from English speaking countries.
– Positive skills assessment in the nominated occupation must be attained.
– Documents to support the previous employment history should be available.
2. An EOI is not a visa application. If you are inside Australia lodging an EOI and your visa is due to expire you are not entitled to a Bridging Visa to remain in Australia while awaiting an invitation to apply.
3. There is no set time frame in which you will receive an invitation to apply nor are you guaranteed to receive an invitation. EOI’s are valid for 2 years and if application for the relevant visa is not made before the EOI expires, a new EOI will need to be re-lodged.
4. You should be confident of supporting the points being claimed in the EOI. The pass mark is 65 points however if 80 points are claimed and on assessment of supporting documents concludes that you can only attain 70 points, the application is likely to be refused. This can occur if claims are made for English ability or employment history and the supporting documents do not support the claims.
5. Skills assessment, English Language and other elements of the criteria are at time of invitation requirements. Even if the skills assessment is positive, if it is attained after the date of invitation the application can be refused.
If you believe you qualify for one of the above visas and want some further information and assistance, please contact us via our online enquiry form.
The Employer Nomination Scheme subclass 186 visa (ENS) is a permanent migration visa. As the name suggests it requires nomination from an Australian employer. The process is similar to the subclass 457 program (closed to new applications) and TSS visa being that an Australian employer must lodge an application for approval of nomination for the skilled position and the skilled worker lodges a visa application to fill the nominated position. Within the program there are three distinct streams:
The TRT stream is for skilled workers that hold a subclass 457 or TSS Visa subclass 482 visa and have been working in the skilled position with the same nominating employer for at least 3 years. Changes were made on 18 March 2018 following the Australian Governments reform to skilled employer sponsored visas. As a result of these changes there are a number of variations to the eligibility for ENS under the TRT stream. The pathway to pursue and whether an individual is eligible depends on a number of factors.
There are exceptional circumstances where the TRT stream may be satisfied if the employer has changed but the position has remained the same.
The DE stream is for skilled workers located in or outside Australia which are nominated by an Australian employer for a skilled position. Changes were also made to the DE stream requirements on 18 March 2018.
The Labour Agreement stream is for applicants which may not satisfy the requirements of TRT or DE Streams and demonstrate special exemptions that have been approved by the Minister for Immigration.
Each business and individual circumstances must be taken into account when selecting and pursing an Employer Nomination Scheme visa application. Failure to identify and pursue the correct stream can be costly and significantly complicate what could otherwise be a positive application decision. With the reform changes and transitional arrangements in place for previous 457 visa holders, it is more important than every to seek professional assistance before commencing the process for ENS.
If you believe you qualify for the above visa and want some further information and assistance, please contact us via our online enquiry form.
