New South Wales Skilled Migration Program for 2021-2022

 

Following the announcements on 14 July 2020, New South Wales (NSW) has been allocated 4000 places for Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) and 3640 places for Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491) as a part of it’s Skilled Migration Program 2021-2022. Relative to other states and territories, NSW has the highest number of place allocation for both Subclass 190 and Subclass 491. Therefore, it represents an opportunity for anyone looking to stay and work in Australia.

Thus, to understand how the NSW Migration Program 2021 – 2022 works, you need to know a couple of important things. First you need to understand the minimum requirements to help you determine if you are eligible to apply for this visa category or not. Secondly, it is vital to distinguish between Subclass 190 and Subclass 491, so that you can pin the correct visa category applicable for you. Finally, you can learn the application process in a step-by-step guide discussed later in this blog, to assist you in the simplest way possible when you are ready to start your application.

Minimum Eligibility

When it comes to applying for Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491), one must take into account a couple of important factors. Unlike other visa categories, one must receive an invitation from the state first before you are able to apply for Subclass 190. That’s mainly because a selection-based invitation process is used by NSW to make sure that the nominees are meeting the state’s skill demand for the economy.

Therefore, below is a brief outline of the minimum eligibility requirements for Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190). 

Category	Details
SkillSelect Point	In order to be able to apply for state nomination, you first need to ensure that you can achieve a score of a minimum of 65 points in your SkillSelect EOI. The SkillSelect point calculator can be found on the Department of Home Affairs’ website. Therefore, it’s highly recommended that you check that calculator to calculate your points fairly accurately before you submit your application for state nomination.
Age	Your age should be below 45.
English	Unless you are a citizen of the USA, UK, Canada, Republic of Ireland or New Zealand, you must hold a minimum of a competent level of English proficiency.
Residency	It’s vital to note that only people currently living in NSW are eligible to apply for this state nomination. As of yet, applications from anyone living in other Australian states or territories or overseas are not accepted. Although, it’s also important to know that there’s no minimum requirement on the duration you must have initially lived in NSW before you are able to apply. However, you must adequately prove that you do truly live in NSW.
Occupation and employment	You need to have a valid skill assessment for the occupation you are wishing to be nominated under. This helps determine if your occupation matches the occupation on the NSW subclass 190 visa occupation list. Do also note that there, however, isn’t any requirement that you need to be either currently or previously be employed in NSW in the occupation that you are seeking to be nominated under. Therefore, if you currently live in another Australian state or territory, qualified for an occupation on the NSW subclass 190 occupation list, then you may consider applying through NSW for the state nomination.

If you deem yourself to be successfully meeting all the underlying minimum eligibility requirements then it would be recommended that you check out the application procedure discussed in the later section. However, if you find yourself lacking a few mandatory conditions then it’s worthwhile to see if you meet the requirement to apply for the Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491).

Although, Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491) is a provisional visa, it is a great pathway for obtaining a permanent residency visa via the Skilled Regional visa (Subclass 191). Therefore, the next section briefly discusses the  Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491) to give you the fundamental idea about the visa category to help you determine if it’s worthwhile for you to consider that visa.

Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491)

It must be understood that the minimum eligibility requirements of Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491) are slightly different from that of Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190). This, of course, is inevitably due to the fact that both these visa categories are designed to systematically target different objectives and mitigate the economic needs of the state.

There are three streams that one needs to consider, while applying for this visa category.

• Stream 1- Living and working in regional NSW: You will be deemed applicable for this stream if you fulfill the following criteria.
  • First the occupation you are wishing to nominate should be on the nominated region’s occupation list. If it is on the list, you then need to obtain a valid skill assessment for that occupation.
  • You need to be living in a designated regional area of NSW. You should be residing there for a minimum of the last 12 months, before you apply under this stream.
  • You need to be working for a minimum of the last 12 months in the occupation you are nominating or in a closely related field,  the designated regional area of NSW.

• Stream 2: Recently completed study in regional NSW: You will be deemed applicable for this stream if you fulfill the following criteria.
  • Like the previous stream you also need a valid skills assessment for your nominated occupation.
  • You need to have completed your study or education with an education provider that meets the following conditions:
    • The study must have been completed no more than the last 24 months;
    • The education provider is based in a designated regional area of NSW.
    • Your study meets the underlying Australian Study requirements as outlined by the Department of Home Affairs.
    • Finally, your qualification needs to be at least closely related to the occupation you are nominating.
  • Lastly, but not the least, you have lived in the designated regional area of NSW for the whole duration of the study.

•  Stream 3: Hold skills in an occupation required in Regional NSW: You will be deemed applicable for this stream if you fulfill the following criteria.
  • Hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region’s occupation list.
  • Be currently residing in an Australian state or territory

To determine if you qualify for any of the above streams you need to check if the regional area of NSW you currently reside is participating or not. The list of  participating regional NSW can be found here. If you meet the regional area check, along with all the underlying requirements discussed above, you can move on the application procedure discussed below.

Application Process

Both Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491) require an invitation from the state before you are able to apply for these visas. Before, it must be understood that this process involves a variety of paperworks, can get quite complex and can be time consuming. Therefore, you must harbour a lot of patience as you commit to undertake this important journey.

To keep it concise and easy to understand for your the steps have been broken down into the following:

1. Expression of Interest Submission
   • The first thing you must do is to submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) on SkillSelect. During this step if you are applying for nomination from NSW, do select NSW as your desired state.
   • It’s important to remember that an EOI is not a visa application and there’s no cost or fees involved when submitting your EOI in SkillSelect.
   • After you have successfully submitted your EOI, it will be valid and stored for two years.
   • During this period, you can update any changes to your circumstances on your EOI.
   • If your personal circumstances change for the better, then do know that any changes made on your EOI will also be reflected through a higher point score. That will help you rank higher and increase your chances of getting an invitation.
   • Do remember that your application will be directly refused if you provide any false or misleading information, hence, you must duly remember to update your application accordingly.
2. Invitation to Apply
   • If your application is successful then you will receive the invitation from SkillSelect.
   • During this period, it’s important to keep track of time, as from the day of invitation grant you have only 60 days by when you must apply for the visa with the Department of Home Affairs.
   • In case your application has not been approved, then unfortunately, you won’t be notified about that. Rather, the department releases the minimum score points for the EOI select bar, that point will be an indicator for you to conclude if your application has been accepted or not.
3. Application
   • Once you have all the documents that you need you can apply for the visa that you have been invited to apply for.
   • You apply for the visa through your ImmiAccount.
   • On your ImmiAccount application you need to attach all the documents.
   • During this phase, you also need to pay the required visa processing fee. Your visa application will not be processed unless you have made the payment.
   • After you have successfully received your application, you will be notified about the receival of the application via email. You will also be notified of any Bridging visa that may also be granted to you.

For your benefit the whole application procedure has been presented here in the most simplified manner. At Path Migration, we have a team of immigration lawyers who specialize in immigration law.

Given the mammoth of experience the team brings in, we provide feasible and practical counselling on your successful pathway to Australia. The team is well adept with knowing what helps increase the chances of success for your application.

If you are unsure whether this visa category applies to you or not or if you are looking to be successfully nominated, then don’t hesitate to contact us or directly email us at hello@pathmigration.com.

You may also be interest in: 

• Employer’s Guide For Foreign Workers Sponsorship under the 482 Visa Stream

• Australia’s Travel Exemption

• Australian Business Innovation and Investment Program

• Global Talent Independent (GTI) Program: the versatile migration pathway