The Immigration Department has announced 2 new visas to come into effect in November 2019:
• The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa;
• The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa
Applicants who want to apply for a permanent visa after living and working in regional areas for 3 years while holding one of the visas above will have a new visa pathway, the also newly announced Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa, which will only be open for applications in November 2022.
The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa will have almost 700 eligible occupations and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa will have over 500 eligible occupations. Both visas will last for 5 years.
The government said they believe this new permanent visa will “provide further incentives for migrants to bring their skills to regional Australia and grow the Australian economy”.
But what will “Regional Australia” mean for the purposes of this visa?
In November 2019, the definition of Regional Australia for all skilled visas will be simplified and expanded to include all of Australia except for the following metropolitan areas:
• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Brisbane
• Gold Coast
• Perth
Areas within the new regional definition will have access to the two new skilled regional provisional visas, which enable migrants and employers to access a wider range of occupations as well as receiving priority processing.
In terms of places/visas allocated for this financial year, what we know so far is:
There will be 9000 places for the Skilled Employer Sponsored (Provisional)
There will be 14,000 places for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)
Please contact us to learn more about these visas and create your Regional Visa Strategy. Why not marry the country’s need for skills outside of large cities with your goals of living in Australia permanently?
Erica Carneiro
Co-Founder, Director and Registered Migration Agent 0532487
