Australia is experiencing widespread skills and workforce shortages that undermine the performance of businesses and key sectors of the economy. Migration has a key role to play in helping Australian businesses thrive by providing the labour, skills and talent needed for business to operate and grow.
To ease the workforce and skill shortages that many industries in Australia are experiencing and to support their economic recovery from COVID-19, the 2022-23 permanent Migration Program will have an overall planning level of 142,400 Skill stream positions. Skill (142,400 places) – this stream is designed to improve the productive capacity of the economy and fill skill shortages in the labour market, including those in regional Australia.
Benefits of Permanent Residency
An Australian permanent resident and an Australian citizen are not the same.
As a permanent resident of Australia, you generally can:
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Remain in Australia indefinitely
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Work and study in Australia
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Enroll in Australia’s national health scheme, Medicare
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Apply for bank loans to buy property
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Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
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Apply for Australian citizenship after 5 year
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Travel to and from Australia for as long as your travel facility permits*.
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Attend free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program
You may also qualify for other government benefits and services. If you hold a permanent visa, but you are not residing in Australia, your eligibility for the above may be impacted.
The General Skilled Migration program is aimed at highly skilled workers (Subclass 189/190/491)
The Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa is a points-tested permanent visa for skilled workers who are not sponsored by an Australian employer, family member or nominated by a state or territory. Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189) applicants must obtain a minimum of 65 points on the point assessment.
Applicants must be nominated for by an Australian state or territory government agency before applying for the 190 visas. If you are nominated by a state or territory, the Department of Home Affairs will invite you to apply for the visa. Each state and territory government agency has its own eligibility criteria.
The 491 visa allows skilled workers to live in a regional area of Australia for up to five years. You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or be sponsored by an eligible relative.
To be eligible to apply for a subclass (Subclass 189/190/491) the PR Points are based on the?
- Age
- Skilled Employment
- Competent English
- Australian Education requirements
- Educational Qualifications
- Credential Community Language Qualification
- Study in Australia
- Study in Regional Australia
- Partner Skill Qualifications
- Professional year in Australia
- Nomination by State or Territory Government (visa subclass 190 only)
- Nomination by State or Territory Government or Sponsorship by an Eligible Family Member (visa subclass 490 only)
HOW ARE THE ELIGIBILITY POINTS CALCULATED FOR AN AUSTRALIA PR VISA?
The 65 points to be attained are calculated based on the following criteria:
| Age | Points |
| 18-24 years | 25 |
| 25-32 years | 30 |
| 33-39 years | 25 |
| 40-44 years | 15 |
Work experience: Skilled employment outside Australia with more than 8 years of experience in the last 10 years will give you 15 points, lesser years of experience means fewer points.
| Skilled employment outside Australia | Points |
| Less than 3 years | 0 |
| 3-4 years | 5 |
| 5-7 years | 10 |
| 8-10 years | 15 |
Skilled employment in Australia with 8 to 10 years of experience from the date of application will give you a maximum of 20 points.
| Skilled employment in Australia | Points |
| Less than 1 year | 0 |
| 1-2 years | 5 |
| 3-4 years | 10 |
| 5-7 years | 15 |
| 8-10 years | 20 |
Education: Points for the education criteria depend on the educational qualification.
| Qualifications | Points |
| A Doctorate degree from an Australian university or institute outside Australia. | 20 |
| A Bachelor (or Masters) degree from an Australian university or institute outside Australia. | 15 |
| Diploma or trade qualification completed in Australia | 10 |
| Any qualification or award recognized by the relevant assessing authority for your nominated skilled occupation. | 10 |
| Masters by research or a Doctorate degree from an Australian educational institution in the STEM fields | 10 |
Spouse application: If your spouse is also an applicant for the PR visa, you will be eligible for additional points to your Skill Select Expression of Interest. To get these additional 10 points, your spouse must meet the following requirements:
- Should be less than 45 years of age
- Should have the basic competent level scores in English
- Job occupation code should appear in the same occupation list as the primary applicant list
Based on the changes in the Australia points-based system from November 2019, applicants can gain points on the following criteria for spouse application. The table gives more details:
| Spouse qualification | Points |
| Spouse has a PR visa or is an Australian citizen | 10 |
| Spouse has competent English and has a Positive Skill Assessment | 10 |
| Spouse has only competent English | 5 |
Other qualifications: You can gain points if you meet any of the following criteria.
| Study in a regional area
Accredited in community language Professional year in a skilled program in Australia State sponsorship (190 visa) Relative or regional sponsorship (491 visa) |
5 points
5 points 5 points 5 points 15 Points |
While 65 is the minimum needed to be eligible for applying, getting an invitation to apply for Australian PR in 2022 is much easier with a score of 80.
Step-by-Step Process for Australia Immigration
Payment structure:
