Ways you can apply for a Permanent Resident in Australia

03 Jun Ways you can apply for a Permanent Resident in Australia

There are several ways where a candidate can apply successfully and become an Australian Permanent Resident and it all depends on the circumstances, qualifications and some could be prior visa status.

We will discuss here the most common temporary to permanent visa pathways.

THE TRANSITION FROM TSS 482 VISA TO PERMANENT RESIDENT

The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 Visa lets you stay in Australia for a maximum term of up to 4 years, whereby you can work, travel, and study in Australia.

The medium stream of a TSS 482 visa enables the visa holder to apply for permanent residency at a later stage if they fulfill the following conditions:

• The 482 Visa holder must be working in an occupation that is on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) for 186 Applications.
• Must have worked for the same employer for 3 years on the TSS 482 Visa
• Must have worked in the same Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) occupation for 3 years on the 482 TSS Visa
• Must have at least competent English
• Must be under 45 tears of age at the time of applying for Permanent Residency

Further, you will also have a pathway for a permanent resident if you qualify for TSS 482 PR transition for Regional Workers upon satisfaction of the following conditions:

• The TSS Visa holder must be working in an occupation that is on the Regional Occupation List (ROL) and working in a Designated Regional Area for 187 Applications
• English Exemptions (If applying for 187 RSMS through the Temporary Residence Transition Stream and have completed at least five years of full-time study in secondary or higher education whether the medium of instruction was delivered in English)

In these applications, the employer or Australian Business must be willing to sponsor the applicant for permanent residency and must lodge a valid nomination with the Department of Home Affairs.  Further, the employer must also be willing to pay the Skilling Australian Fund (SAF) Levy which is tax-deductible. More information about the cost of sponsoring an applicant can be found on the DHA Website.

THE TRANSITION FROM 491/494 (SKILLED WORK REGIONAL – PROVISIONAL/SKILLED EMPLOYER-SPONSORED REGIONAL) VISA TO PERMANENT RESIDENT

In 2019, the Department of Home Affairs introduced two new skilled regional provisional vivas with permanent resident pathways from November 2022. The two new skilled provisional visas superseded the 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Visa and 489 Skilled Regional Provisional Visas.

Both the 491 (Skilled Work Regional Provisional) Visa and 494 (Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional) Visas, allow the eligible skilled workers and their families to live, work, and study in designated regional areas of Australia for 5 years. Visa holders will be eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa three from the time the visa is granted.

For 494 Visa, the qualifiers are the same as in the subclass 186 Nomination Visa for the applicants, there is a larger list of eligible occupations on the Regional (country area) Occupations List. To apply, be successful and retain this visa, the employee will need to remain working full-time with the same employer, and in the same position of employment.

The application for 494 is divided into three stages, namely: Standard Business Sponsorship, Nomination + RCB/RDA, and Visa application. Worldly Migration can assist with the submission and approval from the local RCB (Regional Certifying Body) as Evan (MARN 167414) had to experience successfully securing a DHA nomination approval even after RCB refusals.

Further, Worldly Migration can assist with the requirements for lodging 494 nominations which could result in permanent residency after 3 years upon approval. These nomination writing documents include a customized-to-business salary justification report and genuine position letter, labour market testing, and position description with appropriate ANZSCO role elements.

With regards to the 491 visas, you may move between regions which include Perth, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Lake Macquarie, Illawarra, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong, Adelaide, Hobart, and Canberra or any regional Australia except Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Some benefits of these visas, aside from the golden pathway to permanent residency, are priority processing for regional applications, several incentives available for migrants to stay in regional areas for longer terms as they build stronger ties through workforce and community involvement, and more points available to subclass 491 visa applicants.

STUDENT VISA TO PERMANENT RESIDENT

Coming to Australia to study and becoming a permanent resident is one of the most common scenarios in terms of migration. Most students, after spending time in Australia, would be presented with opportunities for permanent residence after successful completion of their courses. There are several pathways available to international students including post-study work visas, general skilled migration, and employer-sponsored visas.

For international students who have recently graduated from their course, and are still not eligible for a permanent visa, students can apply for a post-work-study visa following their studies. This visa allows the holder to stay for up to 2 years in Australia with unrestricted work rights. During this visa, the holder can complete Australian work experience or achieve higher English scores for migration points. The holder can also find potential employers who can sponsor them with work visas that have permanent residency pathways. The employer-sponsored pathways often involve a process of obtaining a provisional visa then working towards completing 3 years of employment with the sponsoring employer and applying for the permanent residency via the transition pathway.

Alternately, more qualified international students can immediately apply for general skilled migration, without the need of an employer to sponsor them, provided they have the skills and work experience that are required for the permanent visa. In some cases, the applicants can boost their points by trying for a state government nomination to meet the requirements for a permanent visa.

If you want more information regarding pathways to permanent residency, get in touch with our principal migration agent Evan Bishop and maximize your chances with your visa applications. For consultation options, contact us and read about Evan’s published eBook covering Top 10 Reasons Why Employer-Sponsored Visas Ger Refused and find out how you can avoid falling into the same trap.