Migration in Australia
Permanent Migration
There are four streams in the Permanent Migration Program:
- The Skill stream is designed to improve the productive capacity of the economy and fill skill shortages in the labour market, including those in regional Australia.
- The Family stream is predominantly made up of Partner category visas, enabling Australian citizens and permanent residents to reunite with family members from overseas.
- The Special Eligibility stream covers visas for those in special circumstances that do not fit into the other streams. This can include permanent residents returning to the country after a period away.
- The Child stream provides migration avenues for children of Australian citizens and permanent residents and is demand driven.
1. The Skill Stream:
The General Skilled Migration program is aimed at highly skilled workers (Subclass 189/190/491/191)
Subclass 189
The 189 visa is a points-tested permanent visa for skilled workers who are not sponsored by an Australian employer. The Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa allows skilled people to migrate to Australia permanently.
189 Visa holders can:
- be in or outside Australia when making the application
- work and study anywhere in Australia
- sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
- apply for Australian Citizenship (If eligible)
For more about 189 please follow this link:
Subclass 190:
The 190 visa is a points-tested permanent visa for skilled workers who are nominated by an Australian State or Territory government. The Skilled Nominated 190 Visa is a points-tested permanent visa for skilled workers who are nominated by an Australian State or Territory government.
190 Visa holder can:
- stay in Australia permanently
- work and study in Australia
- travel to and from Australia for 5 years
Applicants must have:
- an occupation on the relevant occupation list
- a successful skill assessment for the relevant occupation
- at least competent English
More information
Subclass 491 Visa:
The 491 visa allows skilled workers live in a regional area of Australia for up to five years. You must be invited to apply for this visa. To do so, you must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)
Visa holders can:
- Live, work and study in Australia for up to five years
- Include immediate family
- Study in Australia
- Transition to permanent residency (if eligible)
Nomination or Sponsorship:
You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or be sponsored by an eligible relative.
For more information visit:
Subclass 191 Visa:
The subclass 191 skilled regional visa will be open to new applications in November 2022.
191 Visa holders can:
- Live and work in Australia indefinitely
- Include immediate family on their 191 Visa
- Live, work and study only in regional areas
- Sponsor eligible family members
More information:
Full Skilled Occupation List is available here.
You can calculate your points here:
2. Employer Nomination Scheme: Sub Class 186
This visa lets skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, live and work in Australia permanently.
Basic Eligibility
- You must have the necessary skills for the job
- You must be nominated by an Australian employer
- You must meet our health and character requirements
More about ENS:
3. Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa Subclass 188
This visa allows you to own and manage a business in Australia, conduct business and investment activity in Australia or undertake an entrepreneurial activity in Australia
Basic Eligibility
- Submit expression of interest (EOI) in Skill Select
- Nominated by a State or Territory government agency or Austrade
- Invited to apply for the visa
More about this visa
4. Distinguished Talent visa (Subclass 124)
This is a permanent visa for people who have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in an eligible field.
More about the visa
The Family stream
- Partner visas
- Parents Visas
- Child Visas
- Other Family Visas
Partner Visa
This visa lets the de facto partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen live in Australia permanently. It is usually only for people who currently hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820).
With this visa you can
- live, work and study in Australia indefinitely
- sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia
- apply for Australian citizenship if eligible
For many information about partner Visa please visit the link
Parents Visa (Subclass 103)
Parents may be eligible to migrate to Australia if their child (natural, adopted or step-child) is in Australia and is an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
With this visa you can
- move to or stay in Australia as a permanent resident
- sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia
- apply for Australian citizenship if eligible
For many information about partner Visa please visit the link
Child Visa (Subclass 101)
Child visas – inclusive of all subclasses – are available to: dependent/adopted/orphaned children of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
This visa allows the visa holder to:
- live permanently in Australia
- travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date the visa is granted. After the 5-year period, the applicant will have to either apply for a resident return visa or Australian citizenship, if eligible
For many information about partner Visa please visit the link
Temporary Migration:
There are 24 different visa in the Working and Skilled category. Among the 24, there are only few visa are suitable for medium skill professional.
- Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (TSS) Subclass 482 which is comparatively easy.
- Employer Nomination Scheme (sub class 186)
- Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA)
- Training Visa (Subclass 407)
For all type of Visa, there are Mandatory Skills Assessment. For more about Skill assessment please visit the link
Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (TSS) Subclass 482
This temporary visa lets an employer sponsor a suitably skilled worker to fill a position they can’t find a suitably skilled Australian to fill.
Basic Eligibility you must:
- be nominated for a skilled position by an approved sponsor
- have the right skills to do the job
- meet the relevant English language requirements
For more about the TSS please click here
Labour Agreement:
There are five types of labour agreements under Temporary Skill Shortage Visa:
- Company Specific Labour Agreements
- Designated Area Migration Agreement
- Industry Labour Agreements (there are currently nine different industry agreements- Report on Horticulture agreement is include as –(Annex-H)
- Projects Agreements
- Global Talents Employer Sponsored Agreements.
For more about labour agreement please click here:
General requirements for TSS:
- Age - bellow 45 years
- Skill level: I-VI
- 3-4 Years relevant experience
- English level: For- ENS/ TSS/ DAMA/Labour Agreement-[some occupations has the concessions, Minimum 5 at each Band.]
- Positive skill assessment by nominated authority
- Sponsor (in Australia- there are some recruitments company who have agreement with the Federal Government by on hire labour Agreement. This type of company will sponsor and job placement for potential candidate. Some company who have labour agreement with Australian government also provide sponsorship as employer)
