The Australian Government has recently announced changes to the Australian immigration program, including the introduction of two new skilled regional provisional visas for skilled migrants and dependent family members, coming November 2019.
The two new visas that will
be introduced are:
1. The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional
(Provisional) visa: for people sponsored by an employer in regional Australia.
2. The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa:
for people nominated by a State or Territory government, or sponsored by an
eligible family member to work and live in regional Australia.
A holder of one of the new skilled
regional provisional visas will need to live and work in regional Australia,
the definition of which will be updated in November 2019 for all skilled visas.
The new regional definition will include all areas of Australia except:
• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Brisbane
• Gold Coast
• Perth
Some of the features and
benefits of the new skilled regional provisional visas are:
• They will have a validity of up to five years;
• They will provide greater incentives for regional employers to nominate
skilled workers, as they allow migrants and employers to access additional
skilled occupations;
• They will have priority of processing applications;
• The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa will have almost
700 eligible occupations;
• The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa will have over 500 eligible
occupations; and
• There is a permanent residency pathway attached to both.
Holders of one of the new regional provisional visas will be eligible to apply for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa after they have lived and worked in Australia for three years. The permanent residency pathway will be available November 2022.
If you have an interest in
applying under one of the new visas, or require any other immigration
assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at mail@themigrationplace.com
or by phone on
+61 7 3229 4025. Our experienced and knowledgeable migration solicitors, who
are also registered migration agents, would be happy to help.
We look forward to hearing from you.