The Australia Skilled Regional (Provisional) subclass 489 visa is a temporary visa aimed at skilled workers with good qualifications and good English language abilities, but who do not meet the requirements for the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa.
Businesses in regional areas of Australia often face skilled labour shortages which makes finding and hiring skilled workers difficult.
To help curb this issue, immigration authorities have introduced a regional sponsorship visa that lets skilled migrants work in a specified regional area of Australia.
If granted, the applicant is issued with a four year provisional visa. This visa may lead to permanent residency provided that the eligibility criteria for the permanent visa have been satisfied.
This is a 4 year provisional visa for people who do not meet the criteria for a Skilled Independent visa. You must be invited to apply by and state or territory government agency and:
- be nominated by a territory government agency or participating state, or
- be sponsored by an eligible relative who lives in a regional area of Australia
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SKILLED REGIONAL VISA (PROVISIONAL)
1. Eligibility
To be eligible for this visa you must:
- be nominated by a participating state or territory government agency, or
- be sponsored by a relative who lives in a designated region of Australia, and
- possess the skills and credentials which meet the Australian standard for a profession on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL), and be outside Australia
Points Test: 60 points is the points test pass mark for this visa. You may be awarded points for:
- age
- English language ability
- Australian skilled employment
- overseas skilled employment
- educational qualifications
- Australian study requirement
- completion of a Professional Year
- credentialed community language
- partner skills
- state or territory nomination and designated area sponsorship
The points test is a method used by the Department of Immigration & Border Protection to determine whether an individual possesses skills that are considered to be needed in Australia. The points test is a transparent and unbiased test which awards points to certain skills and attributes, such as experience and level of qualifications.
2. Skilled employment
- You can claim points for employment in your nominated occupation or in a closely related occupation, gained over the past ten years either in Australia or overseas.
- You can combine points for skilled employment gained in both Australia and overseas as long as the employment was undertaken in the last 10 years.
- The maximum number of points that you can claim for Australian or overseas employment or a combination of Australian and overseas employment is 20 points.
- Points awarded: Skilled employment in your nominated occupation or a closely related occupation gained in Australia.
3. English requirements
The English language threshold is at the competent English level which is equal to a minimum score of six in each of the four components of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test or other language test and score specified by the Minister.
No points will be available for competent English however if you meet the English language threshold you may apply for a visa if you meet the other threshold visa requirements.
Passport holders and citizens of the following countries will meet the English language threshold of competent English:
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Republic of Ireland
- United Kingdom (UK)
- United States of America (USA)
You will be required to complete a relevant English language test and obtain the necessary score if you wish to claim points for either proficient or superior English language ability.
Your test must have been completed before your visa application is lodged and must no more than two years old when you make your application.
4. Health, character and insurance requirements
- It’s compulsory for you and any secondary applicants to undergo a health examination. The purpose of this examination is that it protects the Australian community from any health risks.
- To be considered risk free, you and any additional applicants must be free from diseases or conditions considered to be health risks.
The health examination is critical because it:
- helps reduce and constrains public spending on health and community services, which also affects social security, pensions and allowances
- reduces the threat of the Australian community being exposed to potential health risks and illnesses
- improves access to health care and community services in short supply
- Generally all visa applicants must meet the health requirements, and sometimes their dependents must also meet the requirements, regardless of whether they are migrating to Australia.
- In certain cases where a condition or disease has been identified which requires a follow up medical check, you may be required to sign a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC). In this case you will need to sign a Health Undertaking to meet the health requirement.
5. Character Requirements
Requirements for this visa include:
- To be considered good of character, you will be asked to provide police clearance certificates for every country that you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16 years of age.
