News about new Regional Visas
The Immigration department of immigration has recently announced some insights about the migration program for next year (2019-20).
1. The target ceiling for the program will be 160,000 visas.
- There will be a planned outcome of at least 190,000 visas. However, there’s a possibility that the real figures might be much lower than this.
- The skilled migration category will constitute 70% of the program. Mainly including employer sponsored, skilled independent, business and state/territory nominates visas.
Two new visa categories were also proposed- a new skilled regional provisional visa and a new permanent regional visa which will most probably be introduced in November 2019.
The proposed provisional visa category will include 2 subclasses – an employer sponsored regional visa and a skilled work regional visa. Both of these subclasses are a pathway to permanent residency, in that the will both have a validity of 5 years with an option to apply for the new permanent visa after 3 years of living and working in the regional area.
1. Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa:
Will require sponsorship from a local regional employer. This visa will also be eligible for priority processing and will have an occupation list of about 600-700 occupations.
2. Skilled Work Regional Visa:
Will require a nomination by the state or Territory government or a sponsorship by and eligible family member located in the regional area. This visa will also be eligible for priority processing and will have an occupation list of about 500 occupations.
The announcement also mentioned the possibility of redefining “regional” as any area outside of Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Perth. This is in line with the government’s long term objective of developing the regional areas of Australia.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS:
Another announcement was also made for international students indicating a high possibility of an additional year on their 485 post study work visa (i.e. 3 years in total).
Please note all of the above were “proposed” visa and changes which are not yet legislation. However there is a very high chance that soon they will be confirmed.
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NOTE: The information provided in this blog can not be construed as “legal advice”. You should not act based on the information provided here without consulting a registered MARA agent. Migration law is complex and changes very frequently, while we ensure our content is accurate, we can not vouch for how concurrent it is. To clarify any of your doubts call us on +61 2 8815 8135
