Following that, the jobs and skills summit held in Canberra on the 1,2 September 2022 has announced a lot of current Australian immigration initiatives.
There are some key points to be mentioned later in this blog regarding the summit outcomes.
There is still much more news to come in the future.
We believe this year’s migration program is very promising.
This article will discuss all the latest Australian Immigration updates in September and August 2022:
State Allocation Confirmation from Australian Government for Program year 2022-2023
State Nomination visa 491 and visa 190 Update
Visa 189 Skilled independent invitation round
Skills Summit Outcomes
Agriculture Industry challenges
Post Study work visa 485 Extension for Select degree (minimum 4 years duration)
SA Skilled Migration Program update
Business Visa Australia update on allocations and requirements
State Allocation 2022-2023 - Big Increase for Skilled Migration Program
The interim allocations for all states and territories have been released.
The total allocations have been up to about 50,000 this financial year.
There are massive allocations increases in permanent visa 190 with nearly doubling the places.
That shows a move to encourage permanent migration under the new labour government.
In more detail, NSW, Victoria, and WA see significant growth in both visa streams.
Other states have received more quotas than last year.
It is going to be a great year for skilled migrants who seek permanent residency in Australia
Skilled Migration Program Update - visa 190/491 updates in 2022
On the 25 of August, South Australia is the last state to announce the opening of their skilled visa 190/491 program.
There are many positive changes in all state nomination programs including:
Much simpler nomination criteria in all states
Fully opening for offshore application
In the scope of this video, we cannot demonstrate the criteria of each state.
However, you can always get access to it by the link above.
What you should do now?
Upon the opening of state nomination, all skilled workers should start to seek a suitable nomination.
Next, you should ensure that you have a valid SKILL ASSESSMENT and eligible English test result.
Calculating your EOI points and considering age points are also necessary.
So far there has been all positive news for international students and skilled migrants.
Hopefully, there will be more PR options in other streams like employer-sponsored.
Please subscribe to our channel for the latest updates.
SA Skilled Migration Program - SA visa 491 and 190 2022-23 program year
At its last announcement, SA has opened its skilled visa 491 and 190 to over 500 occupations
In that, 97 new occupations have been added to SA’s high-priority visa list including some popular ones like:
Finance manager/broker
Accountant
ICT occupations like Software engineer
Hairdressers
Community service workers
Project administrator
SA is now rolling out a “magnet state” campaign that attracts young people in Australia to come.
Premier Peter Malinauskas says:” you can have a global career in South Australia, living, studying, and working alongside the world’s current and emerging leaders, coming together to achieve great things.”
Tasmania State Nomination - Tasmania Skilled Visa 491 and 190
The Tasmanian Skilled Migration State Nomination Program is expected to open to gold and green pass candidates by Monday 12 September 2022.
Please ensure that you meet the minimum requirements and have at least one gold or green priority attribute.
After that, you may be able to register your interest in the nomination.
NSW state nomination update - Skilled Occupation Lists - Visa 491 and 190 NSW
Overall, the jobs and skills summit focus on dealing with current labour shortages and economy issues. A bigger, better trained and more productive workforce are the goal to acquire. The aim is to deliver high paid jobs, boost incomes and living standards and create more opportunities for Australians.
However, within the scope of this writing, only migration aspect will be outlined.
There are many migrations focused on 4 immediate initiatives and longer-term focuses:
1) Lifting migration cap with more focus on PERMANENT migrants
2) Increasing the speed of visa processing
3) Enabling graduates of Australian universities to work in Australia for longer
4) Extending the lifting of restrictions that allow temporary visa holders to work more hours
Lifting permanent migration number to nearly 200,000 for 2022-23 fiscal year and processing more visa backlogs
Australia is facing a severe skills shortage and a huge visa backlog.
The government believe by clearing the backlog and increasing permanent migration would heal the pain of skilled labor shortages
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has recruited more than 500 new staff to clear the visa backlog sitting at around 900,000.
The government will spend $36.1 million to clear the backlog
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil announced the skilled migration cap in 2022-23 would be lifted to 195,000 – up from 160,000
+ Including 9,000 places for regional Australia to 34,000
+ additional 4,700 for healthcare
+ additional 6,100 for infrastructure
+ additional 6,800 for technology workers.
+ additional 5,000 for business sponsorships.
For a longer term, a permanent migration is set to be executed.
What does it mean?
It means thousands more nurses and thousands more engineers settling in the country this year. Those medium and long term skilled occupation will receive a lot of benefits from the government.
Moreover, the new Labor Government will start to re-assess the occupation list.
Increase the duration of 485 visa for international graduates in Australia
Foreign students’ graduate visa 485 extension and relaxing work restrictions will be available to strengthen the workforce pipeline.
The Australian Government will increase the duration of post-study work visa 485 for international students
This will help strengthen the pipeline of skilled labor.
The extension only applies to select degrees in areas of verified skill shortages.
Eligible graduates will have their visa 485 increased from:
Two years to four years for select Bachelor’s degrees
Three years to five years for select master’s degrees
Four years to six years for select PhDs.
A working group will be established to advise on the development of this and other relevant issues.
The group will report to Ministers by 28 October 2022.
At the moment, only 16 percent of international students stay on after their studies end.
This will mean they can stay on longer and use their skills to contribute to the productivity of our economy.
The outcomes from the skills summit are geared towards supporting international education.
International education is an important Australian industry that has been heavily impacted by the pandemic.
Continued temporary relaxation of working hours for internation students holding 500 visa
Regarding relaxing work restrictions, international students will still be able to work more than 40 hours per week until June 2023.
Moreover, international students will be able to work before the course commencement.
Until June 2023, no restrictions will be applied to international students about their working right.
Increase the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT)
It is recommended by the parties to raise the TSMIT. This is one of the main factor for TSS 482 Visa program.
The minimum wage payable to temporary skilled workers currently at 53,900 will be lifted to 60,000 as wanted by business groups.
Unions want it to be 90,000 to avoid exploitation in low-paid jobs.
The aim of the change is to increase the living standard of those temporary visa holders whilst in Australia.
Agriculture Visa and Challenges in Agriculture sector in the near future
A new group of farmers, unions, and the Federal Government has been formed to tackle chronic workforce shortages in the agricultural sector.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt announced the group on the sidelines of the summit
Senator Watt said the working group would meet monthly over the next year to discuss the sector's challenges
It has been estimated at 170,000 worker shortfalls.
This will make sure that farmers can get the workers that they need and to make sure that agriculture workers are protected and respected in their work.
In a new release from Department of Home Affairs, they confirmed that the PALM scheme will remain a key program for meeting agricultural workforce shortages. They are planning to boost permanent migration through new Pacific Engagement Visa to be introduced in July 2023
3000 Visas would be allocated annually, Applicants need to be aged between 18 and 45 years, having a job offer in Australia, and some English proficiency.
More information will be published later.
If you are working in Agriculture, consider another options if not eligible for PALM scheme. For more options, check this link
Business Visa Australia Allocation and Its Future
This year has seen very low allocations for business innovation and investment visa in all states.
NSW has published its business visa requirements with slightly higher criteria.
Instead of 65 points for 188a and 188b visa, the requirement has now been raised to 85 in NSW.
Not just NSW, other states have announced their business visa program with very low places.
Consequently, States will become more difficult in picking up suitable applications.
Global talent visa updates 2022 - EOI and Priority Processing Criteria
EOI Expiration
In recent notice from the Department of Home Affairs, they have announced there will no expiration date for the Global Talent Visa program Expression of Interest.
The current duration cap is 12 month.
The GTI officers are currently processing EOIs submitted in April 2021. However, for some cases, you might receive early invitation.
Work Visa Lawyers clients got their invitation in just 2 days with support of Global Talent officer.
In which order are EOIs considered?
Expressions of Interest are usually assessed in order of receipt, however the following may receive priority assessment:
Confirmed support from a Global Talent Officer
Hong Kong nationals and residents
Candidates of extremely high calibre
EOIs from candidates clearly outside program parameters may receive early notification.
Are you planning to study or work in Australia for its Permanent Residency?
Are you curently in Australia and seeking Australian PR pathway with your skill?
Today’s topic is talking about the best state for skilled visa and employer sponsorship program.
Our opinion about the best state for each stream will be illustrated in the conclusion.
We have recently discussed the comparison of each state regarding its study life in Australia by the “where should I study” series.
Today we are going to look at the comparison of each state sponsorship program (Visa 491, Visa 190), and the employer-sponsored visa options (Visa 482, Visa 186...) for those who are working in Australia.
Skilled Migration Program and Employer Sponsorship Visa in New South Wales (NSW)
NSW is the most popular state in skilled migration programs and employer sponsorship, making it highly competitive.
Speaking of skilled visas 491 and 190, you do not need to be working in your nominated occupation to be eligible for the 190 visas or 491 visas.
You only need to reside there for 3 months and seek a nomination for the skilled nominated visa 190.
However, NSW does not offer a full range of skilled occupations list similar to SOL of the Department of Home Affair and please be aware that the list can be changed from time to time.
While requirements are relatively straightforward , NSW is still very competitive and only chooses applicants with the highest points test score due to a significant number of applications per year.
This is appropriate because the number of international students and workers in NSW are much higher than its allocations number each program year.
The excellent candidates will be selected. If you think you might be eligible for NSW State Nomination Visa 190, 491, please book an appointment with our experts.
If you choose to study in NSW for a skilled visa, you should consider going to regional areas of NSW like Newcastle or Wollongong for a chance to obtain a visa 491.
It may be very difficult for fresh graduates in NSW to compete with other applicants to achieve high points.
Nevertheless, Sydney has many global organizations to offer opportunities for employer sponsorship in management related and also high-level ICT Related occupation.
Accoutants, the most popular occupation which has been on its downside recently seems to be more interested in getting PR through Visa 482.
Accoutant is listed on Medium and Long Term Skilled Occupation list, which gives the applicants more Permanent Residency pathways.
This employer sponsorship program can give international students and workers opportunities for permanent residency pathways for certain occupations and streams
Especially for applicants who have been in Australia during the pandemic (more than 12 months from February 2020 to December 2021 in Australia), you might be eligible for a 482 Short Term to Permanent Residency.
State Nomination Visa 491/190 and Employer Sponsored Visa 482,186 in Victoria
Victoria offers a VERY LIMITED skilled occupation list and benefits to its students who study there and seek state nomination from Victoria.
You may be disappointed if you did not choose the right major for your study in Victoria.
However, there is no clear guideline in the Victoria state sponsorship program.
Except for the requirement that you work in its target sectors, your occupation must use STEMM skills.
There are around 227,000 international students in Victoria, with only 4000 places in state nomination each financial year. (Statistics from November 2020)
It means you only have around a 2% chance to get a skilled visa 491 or 190 in Victoria.
It is worth mentioning that Victoria is famous for its employer sponsorship program.
There are a lot of big companies in Melbourne that may offer employer sponsorship opportunities similar to Sydney.
CONTACT OUR IMMIGRAITON LAWYERS TEAM TO DESIGN THE BEST STUDY PATHWAY TO PR FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
To study in Victoria, you should select a major in their target sectors or an occupation which is listed in Medium and Long term skilled occupation list for higher chances of getting Permanent Residency in Australia
Otherwise, you will end up going regional area to seek the nomination.
Skilled Visa 491/190 and Employer Sponsored Visa 482,186 in Queensland
Queensland is focusing on nominating those working in the state.
To be eligible for a skilled nomination in QLD, you must be working full-time in your nominated occupation for at least three months after completing a minimum of 2 years of study.
If you study Ph.D. in QLD, you may be nominated for permanent residency 190 visas from Queensland.
You may be disappointed if you are a skilled migrant here because of its water-dropping invitations during the year with just over 2,000 allocations.
However, QLD is the first state to introduce its Small Business Owner stream, and this program has a lot of benefits to international students who have completed their studies.
And QLD has a lot of job opportunities you can look for regarding employer sponsorship programs visa 482 to have a pathway to Permanent residency subclass 186.
Moreover, Queensland has just opened DAMA Stream in Townsville region
You need to consider these streams if you choose to study in Queensland.
Skilled Visa 491/190 and Employer Sponsored Visa 482,186 Western Australia
Western Australia’s nomination requirements are simple, but their skilled occupation list is limited.
To be eligible for WA Nomination, you need a job offer in the Schedule 2 list
Or have 12 months of Australian work experience in the nominated occupation in the Schedule 1 list.
They have a graduate pathway for those who study for at least 2 years in WA.
However, their migration program can be challenging, with its occupation list changing from time to time without notice.
The employer sponsorship program is suitable for those who are working in the mining industry.
Choosing WA as a destination for study and permanent residency is not a good choice unless you are talented
Skilled Visa 491/190 and Employer Sponsored Visa 482,186 ACT
The Australian capital Territory gives you access to nomination via Canberra Matrix only.
Please be aware that this matrix is different from the EOI points test from the Department of Home Affairs.
There is no specific graduate pathway in the ACT. However, you can get higher matrix points with more years to study there.
ACT also has its own critical occupation list with points score level of chance to be selected
Importantly, this critical list has been changing continuously during the last financial year
ACT just opened their small business owner stream last year, 2021; this stream will give applicants more matrix points and a chance to be selected for nomination.
ACT has most jobs in government which usually requires a permanent residence status. So, we don’t recommend ACT as a place for employer-sponsor
Choose to study in the ACT if you are familiar with the matrix process and enjoy the top study quality.
Skilled Visa 491/190 and Employer Sponsored Visa 482,186 NT
The Northern Territory is famous for its generous skilled migration program in supporting its own graduates
There are graduate and working streams in NT with its full range of occupations and simple requirement without work experience. All you need to do is to prove your long term commitment to NT for a PR nomination
The Graduate stream gives more benefits if
applicants can prove long-term commitment to the state
and have another 6-month stay after graduation with NT under a Temporary graduate visa.
In our experience, NT will be happy to send out invitations for those applicants.
NT has NT DAMA, which utilizes the labor agreement stream of TSS 482 visas.
With the willingness to nominate graduates – the NT is a good all-round option.
If you choose to study in NT for PR, choose some courses that instantly help you get skill assessment without working requirements and those courses must be be able to get you a Tmporary Graduate 485 Visa.
State Nomination Visa 491/190 and Employer Sponsored Visa 482,186 Tasmania
Tasmania is one of the friendliest states for skilled nominated visas with its clear guidelines and transitional arrangements if rules are changed
If you started studying in Tasmania now, you might have to be working in Tasmania to be eligible for nomination.
Current requirements are 3 months and 6 months for 491 and 190 respectively, with occupations in Tasmania’s list.
Tasmania currently announced a new stream of small business owners, which is the most straightforward requirement among all states.
Tasmania has a very high level of allocations compared to its low population of international students
It has 3300 allocations in visa 491 and visa 190 and only 12,500 international students in the states
However, you need to consider the population and market before studying or opening a business in tasmania for the small business owner stream visa 491 and visa 190.
if you are interested in Tasmania state nomination, call us now for the best advice.
However, with its low population and stable economic activity in the state, Tasmania seems to be not an attractive destination for whom seek employer sponsorship program
State Nomination Visa 491/190 and Employer Sponsored Visa 482,186 South Australia
South Australia has one of the most comprehensive state sponsorship visa program and moderate Employer Sponsorship opportunities where skilled migrants can consider towards.
They offer the full range of skilled occupations, but the requirements may vary in each occupation
Comparing the number of South Australia’s international students and its allocations, they have significantly more chances than others who study in metro areas like Brisbane (QLD), Melbourne (Victoria) or Sydney (NSW).
State Nomination South Australia Visa 491, visa 190
South Australia has a lot of different streams and separate regional postcodes in South Australia where more concessions of Permanent Residency pathway are allocated in the state.
Generally, you need to be working in your nominated occupation from 3 to 18 months for 190 and 491 visas
Or working in ANY OCCUPATION in regional postcodes of South Australia to get 491 visas
There is also a high GPA stream with a chance to be nominated 190 visas in SA
Under the talent and innovator program, SA has announced a startup and small business stream, which has actively invited applicants 190 visas.
Employer sponsorship program in South Australia
SA is a good place to come with its employer sponsorship, for some occupations like motor mechanic, chef or cook in outer regional so that applicants can prepare themselves a backup plan to skilled migration program.
South Australia, same as NT, is actively enhancing its DAMA streams. It means simple requirement with more occupations in the list for Australian PR.
Study in South Australia to enjoy its work-life balance while you are aiming for permanent residency
Work Visa Lawyers has been established in South Australia with a team of Immigration lawyers and Registered Migration Agents who are specialized in South Australia Immigration.
Which state is the best for skilled migration program visa 491,190 and which state is the best for Employer Sponsored visa 482, 186?
To conclude, the best states for migration for international graduates are South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. This is because these states strongly support international graduates and have comparatively high numbers of visas allocated to these states.
Part of this high allocation is that all the states are considered regional.
The best state for migration based on employer sponsorship depends on which state offers the most opportunities for your occupation.
For many management-related occupations or occupations that would be employed by large organisations including high-level ICT jobs, the best states may be New South Wales which has Sydney and Victoria which has Melbourne.
If your occupation is mining-related then attractive states would include Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia.
That is all for today. We hope that this writing can give you a better idea of which state you should choose to study in Australia to get permanent residency.
This information is correct at the time of publication but is subject to change without notice. All information provided on this page is provided for purely educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your situation, please speak with an Immigration Lawyer or a Registered Migration Agent.
The Global Talent Visa (GTV) on the other hand has gained popularity as it was an attractive option for several skilled and talented individuals because it was designed to be a streamlined pathway to permanent residency for those who are considered as high-calibre, outstanding global talents.
So how would you know whether the Global Talent Visa or another skilled visa is suitable for you? Below are some of the considerations
Migration planning levels 2022-23 – a clear focus on Skilled Migration with 30, 000 more allocations and less than 30,000 for Family and partner visas.
This shows the significant impact of covid-19 to the labor shortages of Australia now the government is trying to attract more skilled migrants, driving innovation and investment as part of the 2022-23 budget.
The 2022-23 permanent Migration Program ceiling will be capped at 160,000 places.
Migration – Skill stream
The Morrison Government’s Migration Program will focus on skilled migration, with a return to a pre-pandemic composition of roughly two-thirds/one-third across the Skill and Family streams.
The Skill stream will increase to 109,900, more than 30,000 places above 2021-22 planning levels.
There have been significant growth in number of quotas for each stream in Skilled Migration such as:
Employer Sponsored Visa: 8,000 more allocations
Skilled Independent 189 Visa: roughly 10,000 more allocations for the new program years 2022-2023. This is published to deal with the current huge backlog in the Department of Home Affairs
Skilled Regional visa 491 or visa 494 will more than double to 25,000 places to support growth in regional Australia.
Business Innovation and Investment (9,500 places), Global Talent (8,448 places) and Distinguished Talent (300 places) are experiencing a modest reduction in the allocations.
This may not be as bad as it sounds for Business Innovation and Investment Visa, because the processing of those business visas have been slow and may not have reached allocations.
The drop in Global Talent visa allocations looks dramatic, but it is useful to remember, that in 2021, while there was an allocation of 15,000, just over 9000 was granted.
Australia is still proven to be the most favorable destination in the world for highly skilled workers and investors.
Occupation lists will be reviewed and updated in early 2022-23 to reflect changes in Australia’s labor market, based on advice from the National Skills Commission.
Migration – Family stream
As part of the Government’s migration program, the Family stream will provide an estimated 50,000 places to support family reunion.
The Partner and Child visa categories are estimated to deliver 40,500 and 3,000 visas respectively (delivery of Partner and Child visas will be subject to demand and visa processing requirements); while 6,000 places will be available for Parent visas; and 500 places for Other Family visas.
This sounds bad, but the Partner visa allocation was nearly doubled during the covid pandemic.
From 2022-23, Partner visa processing will move to a demand driven model.
Granting Partner visas on a demand-driven basis will provide the flexibility to meet the demand for Partner visas in a given program year, and assist in mitigating future growth in the Partner visa pipeline while maintaining immigration integrity.
Working Holiday Makers
There is an increase in the cap for Working Holiday Maker – the 462 visa
11,000 additional WHM visas will be available for prospective backpackers.
This is reasonable when Australia is pushing their programs which support significantly on labor shortages in critical sectors such as the Agriculture Visa program, Working Holiday Makers.
Humanitarian Visas
The 2022-23 Humanitarian Program will be maintained at the current ceiling of 13,750 places
an additional 16,500 places will be available for Afghan nationals under the Humanitarian program and will be equally allocated over the next four years.
There will be 4000 places available for Ukrainians under the Temporary Humanitarian visa. Minister Hawke has commented that Ukrainians will be considered displaced persons that may return to their homeland in the future. They will have access to Medicare and work rights.
Funding the Immigration Department
The budget has released decreased funding for the Department of Home affairs Immigraiton services over the next five years. Funding will go down each year.
2021-22: $3,917m
2022-23: $3,335m
By 2024-25: $2,848m
So how achievable are the targets, with cutting the Department.
Looking at the breakdown of the expenditure can is quite revealing:
Australia spends twice as much, over 2 billion a year, on the management of unlawful non-citizens. While it spends less than a billion, 822 million, on managing the entire skilled and immigration program.
So, the obvious way to improve the budget on Immigration is to spend less on detention and then you have more for visa services and Citizenship.
The best way to do this, is to give those in detention, that can safely be released, Bridging visa and work rights. This will save millions and possibly billions.
Greater funding for the skilled part of the Immigration budget could boost Australia’s post covid recovery and help with skills shortages.
