Although the skilled and business innovation and investment streams were cut to 1,900 when the permanent migration program was announced in May, permanent employer sponsored visa allocations increased by 1,825 to 36,825.

Several business advocacy groups called on the government earlier in the year to increase migration levels to as many as 220,000 places to match the country’s population growth and the treasury expected net overseas migration – which includes students and working holidaymakers – to be as high as 400,000.

Australia has long been suffering from acute skills shortages across many industries. The aged care, child care and teaching industries are still struggling to find workers, and many skilled jobs including carpentry are crying out for qualified tradespeople.

The family stream allocation remained unchanged from the previous financial year at 52,500 places. Some 40,500 partner visas, 8,500 parent visas and 3,000 child visas were planned for but the department says this number is subject to demand and a limit has not been set on how many permanent family visas are issued.

Permanent visa places for migrants to regional areas were reduced by 1,700 places to 32,300 and the number of state nominated visas the government planned to allow fell by 600 places to 30,400.

The Department of Home Affairs said the changes were aimed at increasing the number of working age people allowed to migrate to Australia.

Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese has previously outlined his intention to move the country towards more permanent forms of migration and the slight reduction in migration allayed concerns the government would lower the permanent intake.

There has never been a better time for migrants to contemplate moving to Australia and Easy Migrate has the experience and knowledge needed to provide you with visa advice, help finding a job or help sponsoring an overseas worker.

The post How many visa places there are to migrate to Australia this year appeared first on Easy Migrate.

Immigration South Australia Announcement

To support the State Government’s response to COVID-19, Immigration SA has made the following announcement.

Immigration SA is implementing changes which prioritise the processing and nomination of health and medical professionals. 

Reduced work experience requirements for medical and health professionals working in South Australia 

International graduates of South Australia – medical and health professionals  

Medical and health professionals listed here who have graduated from a South Australian higher education provider and currently reside and work in South Australia in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 40 hours per fortnight), are exempt from the three-month work experience requirement. Applicants accessing the work experience exemption will only be eligible for nomination for a provisional 491 visa. New requirements apply to 190 nomination eligibility – see below.  

Applicants currently working as a medical or health professional in South Australia 

Medical and health professionals listed here who currently reside and work in South Australia in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) are exempt from Immigration SA’s current work experience requirements. Applicants accessing the work experience exemption are only eligible for a provisional 491 visa nomination. 

Please note the 5 year work experience requirement has been removed for Registered Nurses working in their occupation or closely related occupation in South Australia. 

For medical and health professionals who are currently working in their nominated or closely related occupation in South Australia, a minimum of 65 points is required, including state-nomination points, and competent English.  

190 nomination eligibility – medical and health professionals 

Medical and health professionals listed here who are currently working for the last 12 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in South Australia (or the last 6 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in a country region of South Australia) remain eligible for a permanent 190 visa. 

Priority processing for medical and health professionals working in South Australia 

Processing times for state nomination vary depending on the volume of applications received and applications from medical and health professionals will be prioritised in the first instance. If your current visa is within 2 weeks of expiration, and if you have not requested priority processing of your application, please lodge an online enquiry to Immigration SA as per the standard process.   

Changes to requirements for 190 visa subclass nomination 

Immigration SA is closing visa subclass 190 eligibility for applicants who are not currently working in South Australia for the last 12 months (or 6 months in a region). Only applicants currently working for the last 12 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in South Australia or the last 6 months in their nominated or closely related occupation (minimum 20 hours per week) in a country region (of South Australia) will be eligible to apply for permanent 190 visa nomination. If you do not meet these requirements, you are only eligible to apply for 491 visa nomination. This applies to all occupations except for the following:  

• 132211 Finance Manager 
• 149914 Financial Institution Branch Manager 
• 221111 Accountant (General) 
• 221112 Management Accountant 
• 221113 Taxation Accountant 
• 221211 Company Secretary 
• 221213 External Auditor 
• 221214 Internal Auditor 
• 222112 Finance Broker 
• 222311 Financial Investment Adviser 
• 222312 Financial Investment Manager 
• 224711 Management Consultant 

These occupations are no longer eligible for a subclass 190 nomination as they have reached their quota. Applicants for these occupations can still apply for nomination for the provisional 491 visa subclass. 

Occupations closed to offshore applicants 

The following hospitality occupations are now closed for offshore applicants. 

• 141111 Cafe or Restaurant Manager 
• 351311 Chef 
• 351411 Cook 

The changes listed in this news item are effective immediately for state nomination applications submitted to Immigration SA on or after 12pm on 27 March 2020. If you currently have a saved state nomination application that has not yet been submitted to Immigration SA, you will need to meet the requirements above relevant to your nominated occupation or visa subclass.  

Immigration SA is aware that the COVID-19 situation and the impact of the travel ban is presenting challenges for some applicants and current visa holders who may be required to lodge from offshore, or are currently overseas and are unable to return to South Australia.

If your application for nomination or ability to meet the eligibility criteria is impacted due to the travel ban restrictions, please log into your account and submit an online enquiry through the Immigration SA Apply website. We are receiving a large volume of online enquires so we ask for your patience at this time, we will reply as soon as we can.  

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