SKILLED INDEPENDENT VISAS (SUBCLASS 189)
The skilled independent visa pathway is for those who have the skills and qualifications necessary to fill Australian skills shortages. Applicants are required to have an occupation on a list published by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and to accumulate sufficient points for skills, experience, age and English language proficiency in order to meet the eligibility threshold.
SKILLED SPONSORED VISA (SUBCLASS 190 OR 489)
This visa is similar to that above but requires applicants to be sponsored by either an eligible family member in Australia or by a State or Territory government body. The advantage of securing sponsorship is that it provides applicants with additional points to help them attain the necessary total to be eligible for this visa.
TEMPORARY WORK VISA (SUBCLASS 457)
This pathway permits employers to sponsor overseas skilled workers to be employed in Australia on a temporary visa for a period of up to four years. The employer will need to be approved as a Standard Business Sponsor, following which they can nominate positions for different occupations on an approved list.
EMPLOYER NOMINATION SCHEME (SUBCLASS 186)
This visa is a permanent visa available to applicants sponsored by an Australian employer. There are two streams to this visa, the first is a direct entry stream in which the applicant’s skills and experience are assessed against the nominated occupation, and the second is a transition to permanent residence for those who already work for their sponsoring employer on a temporary 457 visa.
REGIONAL SPONSORED MIGRATION SCHEME (SUBCLASS 187)
This visa is also a permanent visa for applicants sponsored by an Australian employer. However, it relates specifically to those sponsored to work in a regional area of Australia and the eligibility criteria are a little less stringent than for the subclass 186 above.
|
