Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489) Requirements

General Skilled migration – Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489) – Temporary Residency Visa

Do you want to apply for the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)?

Please note the most important requirement for Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489) below:

• The Skilled-Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489) is for specific regional areas in Australia where skilled workers and their families can live, work and study for up to four years.

There are two different pathways for the Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489) :

• Invited Pathway
• Extended Stay Pathway (you must hold a provisional visa in subclass 475, 487, 495 or 496)

This skilled visa Australia will allow you and your family members to:

• continue to live in Australia for up to four years
• work and study in a certain regional area of Australia
• will travel in and out of Australia while you hold a valid visa

This visa can lead to a pathway to permanent residency through the Skilled Regional (Residence) visa (subclass 887), but the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489) is a temporary residency visa.

You might be eligible to apply for the Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489) if invited and you are either:

• be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency
• have a sponsor by an eligible relative living in a designated area

When Immigration sent you a letter of invitation, you must have the following as well:

• be nominated by an Australian State or Territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated area
• be nominated with an occupation that is on the relevant skilled occupation list (SOL or CSOL)
• have a suitable skills assessment for that nominated occupation
• not yet have turned 50 years old
• achieved the score stated in your letter of invitation based on the factors in the points test
• can show at least competent English

You may be eligible to apply Extended Stay Pathway if you are the skilled worker who has held one of the following visas and obeyed all visa conditions, for at least two years before applying for the Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489):

• provisional Skilled Independent Regional visa (subclass 495)
• provisional Skilled Designated Area Sponsored Provisional visa (subclass 496)
• provisional Skilled Regional Sponsored visa (subclass 475)
• provisional Skilled Regional Sponsored visa (subclass 487)

You cannot have held more than one of mentioned visas.

Do you need more information on the points test system? Look no further…

• If you are applying for a visa to work in Australia, you may be required to pass the points test. This test is used to assist Australia in choosing the right candidates who possess the skills and attributes needed.

The number of points you need to pass the points test will depend entirely on the subclass of visa you apply for.

You can receive points for a number of reasons, including:

• The skills you have acquired
• How old you are currently
• Your English language ability
• Your specific occupation
• Your Australian work experience and/or Australian qualifications

You will need to obtain a skill assessment for your nominated occupation. What is a skill assessment?

• A Points Tested Skilled Migration visa can be applied for when you receive an invitation. Afterwards, you must then nominate an occupation that is currently on the relevant skilled occupation lists, the SOL or the CSOL (will be explained below).
  You will need to then provide proof that your skills have been assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation you chose by the relevant assessing authority. You can find which assessing authority you need on the SOL or CSOL.
• You will need to provide the relevant assessing authorities full (permanent) skills assessment, which will then be used for the Points Tested Skilled Migration.
  The requirement for an assessing authority to take on different types of skill assessments is determined by the assessing authority in agreement with the appropriate professional standards.
  A skills assessment is valid until the expiry date stated on the assessment, or when three years from the date of issue has gone by, whichever happens first.

What is the Skilled Occupation List (SOL)? You will need to nominate an occupation from this list for the subclass 489 visa.

• The Skilled Occupations List (SOL),is a list of skilled occupations and is used as part of the points system for Immigration to Australia. In order for you to qualify for skilled migration to Australia, you must nominate an occupation from this list (SOL). However, if you are applying for skilled migration by a nomination through a State or Territory Government, you also have the option of nominating an occupation from a different list, known as the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL) and the occupation in demand from the State list.
• Please be aware that all occupations on the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) are from the ANZSCO (Australia and New Zealand Skilled Classification of Occupations) code, where as it was previously called the ASCO (Australian Skilled Classification of Occupations).
• If you apply for a General Skilled Migration visa (including the 189 visa) and you are NOT going to be nominated by a State or Territory Government, then you will have to nominate an occupation from the Skilled Occupation List (SOL).
• However, if you apply for a General Skilled Migration visa and you ARE being nominated by a State or Territory Government, you can nominate an occupation from either list, which includes the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) or the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL).

Nomination by a state or territory government

• State and territory government agencies can view your expression of interest in SkillSelect and decide whether to nominate you for a visa. Each state or territory has a list of occupations that guides the types of skills they are looking for.
• In your EOI, you can indicate your interest in just one state or territory, or you can choose to be available to all of them. If you accept a nomination, the states and territories may require you to:
• live in the nominating state or territory for a specified minimum time
• tell the state or territory your address, both before and after you arrive in Australia
• be prepared to complete surveys and providing other post-arrival information they ask for
• meet any of their other requirements.
• Each state or territory government agency has its own process for nominating expressions of interest. Some agencies contact people directly and others wait for people to contact them. You can find more information on their websites.

Eligible Sponsor/Relative Criteria

This is information for someone who has agreed to sponsor a relative for a Skilled-Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)

Who can be a sponsor?

You can be a sponsor to an eligible relative for the subclass 489 visa if:

• you are at least 18 years old
• you live in a designated area
• you are an Australian citizen, permanent resident of Australia, or a New Zealand citizen who is eligible

Your relative or the relative’s partner you want to sponsor you must be one of the following:

• child/step-child
• parent/step-parent
• brother, sister, adoptive brother, adoptive sister, step brother, step sister, niece, nephew, adoptive niece, adoptive nephew, step niece, step nephew, aunt, uncle, adoptive aunt, adoptive uncle
• grandparent
• first cousin

Sponsor declarations

To be a sponsor to an applicant, you need to complete the following statutory declaration:

• Skilled Regional (class SP) 489 (provisional) visa sponsor declaration

Please remember to give the completed form to the applicant so that they can include the form with their visa application.

Sponsor obligations

If you become a sponsor, you agree to support the applicant and assist them settling in Australia.

What is the skill select – Expression of Interest? How do you lodge this application?

• SkillSelect is an online service that assists Australia in managing the skilled migration programme. It can help to ensure that the programme is based on Australia’s current economic needs. It goes hand in hand with the government, helping to manage who can apply for skilled migration, when applicants can apply and how many. Since this has taken place, the time to process a visa application has been significantly reduced.
• You will need to set up an account and login to SkillSelect in order to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI).
• In doing an EOI, skilled workers and business people can show that they are interested in migrating to Australia and then can be considered for a skilled visa when they submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by using SkillSelect. An EOI shows that you are interested and would like to be considered for a skilled visa. An EOI is NOT a visa application.
• When you submitted your EOI, a state or territory government can look it over and decide whether to nominate you to apply for the 190 visa. State and territory authorities have their own requirements for deciding who to nominate. Each state or territory government agency has different processes for nominating from the EOI, some may contact you and others may wait to be contacted. You will be able to find out more information on their websites.
• You may be asked to provide a range of information in your EOI. This will depend on the visa you state you want to be considered for, including:
• Your basic personal information
• What your nominated occupation will be
• Your current work experience
• Your study and education
• What your current level of English skills is
• Your details of a skills assessment, which will need to be related to your nominated occupation
• Do you have any business and or investment experience?
• This then makes it to where skilled workers and business people can be found and nominated for skilled visas by Australian employers or state and territory governments. They could also be invited by the Australian Government to lodge a visa application.

When can you apply for the Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)?

• You need to have received an invitation by a state or territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible relative living in a specific designated area. It allows you to live and work in Australia as a to apply for this visa; you may receive this invitation after submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI).
• Invitations are solely based on claims that are made in your EOI, so your visa application must then include evidence to support your claims from your EOI.
• If you receive an invitation to apply for this visa, you will have 60 days to from this point to apply. We suggest applying early to ensure the lodgement of your application is successful. You may be on-shore or off-shore, when your application is lodged.

So what should i do?

DIBP suggest for whomsoever wants to apply for Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489) to ensure the information they gotten is sound and valid.

The best way to make sure that all the information you’ve got is valid is getting the information itself from trusted source.

Registered Migration Agent have deep understanding the intricacies of Skilled Visa application process and able to navigate through the complexities of Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 489) application process.

By having a private consultation session with our lead registered migration agent, Mrs. Indah Melindasari you would gain a valuable insight and well thought out actionable migration plan crafted based on your circumstances.

ONE derland Consulting has extensive experience dealing with different type of visas and complex cases, to find further information on your options and eligibility for a Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489) to Australia please contact our office on (+61) 8 9477-5831 or email: [email protected]