New Changes to Australian Immigration Visa in 2020 You Must Know

There were numerous changes introduced to different Australian visas last year. If you want to know what the new year holds, here check the plans for 2020 in Australian Immigration.

Recently, an article was published by the Australian Associated Press that stated migrants are permitted to live and work in Australia if they invest a minimum of $1.5 million or more. Now, the Morrison Government is planning to increase the investment thresholds for investment and business innovation visas. It is expected that investment in regional areas will be a prime priority. Also, the government intends to streamline the program, which presently includes nine visa streams and three visas.

New Regional Visas Announced with PR Pathways

2 new regional visas have been announced by the Australian government. Also, there have been changes made to the point test that came into operation from November 2019.

These two new regional or provisional visas are:

• Subclass 494 Skilled Employer-Sponsored Visa – Replacing the 187 (RSMS) visa and commencing November 16, 2019, the 494 Visa has 10,000 places allocated per year. It needs employer sponsorship and the position is likely to continue for 5 years. This visa holds an age limit of 45 years (including exemptions), RCB advice, competent English and must meet the AMSR guidelines. The visa applicants must hold a suitable skill assessment on the 494 occupations list and a minimum of 3 years of skilled employment.
• Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa – The new 491 visa is the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa subclass 491 will allow eligible skilled workers as well as their families to work, study, and live in designated regional Australian areas for 5 years. It makes visa holders eligible to apply for the Permanent Residence visa after three years. It is essential that applicants for this visa are nominated by:
  • A territory or state government agency of Australia (491) occupation list, or
  • Sponsored by an eligible member of the family from MLTSSL list living in designated regional areas and can be invited to apply for this visa, allowing submission of EOI or Express of Interest in Skill Select.

• Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) – In order to meet the requisites of the permanent visa the applicants from November 2022 must hold subclass 494 or 491 visas for a minimum of 3 years, has compiled with the conditions on that visa and have successfully met minimum taxable income requisites.

Additional 1 or 2 Year Visa for International Graduates from Regional Institutions

A new initiative has been announced by the Department of Home Affairs for an additional Temporary Graduate visa with an additional one or two years of post-study work rights for the international students who:

• Maintain an existing residence in a regional area while possessing their first Temporary Graduate subclass 485 visas.
• Graduate from the Campus belonging to any Australian region of a registered institution or university with a postgraduate or higher education qualification.

The Temporary Graduate visa that needs ongoing residence in the regional area now includes Gold Coast and Perth as the regional areas.  Moreover, visa holders of new Regional provisional visa will be eligible for Medicare.

Global Talent – Independent Program (GTIS) and Employer-Sponsored Program (GTES)

It has also been announced by the Department of Home Affairs regarding the Global Talent Program Employer-Sponsored permanent to become part of the world’s promising and brightest Australian start-ups and businesses. The same will hold streamlined access to the best talent from across the world with the existence of the Global Talent – Employer-Sponsored Program, primarily the Global Talent Scheme.

This decision has been made by the government realizing that there is intense competition for high-tech talent and skills and that attracting such people aids to transfer skills to Australian workers and expand Australian-based businesses.

There will be two components included in the Global Talent Scheme:

• Start-up stream
• Established businesses holding a yearly turnover of more than $4 million

It has been announced by the Department that the Global Talent – Independent Program allows a well-defined and priority visa route for highly talented and skilled individuals to live and work permanently in the Australian country.

The migration program of Australia is designed to make sure that migration is beneficial for the present and future social and economic development of Australia. These changes offer a bigger focus on allocating more places to the Territory or State Nominations and Employer-sponsored visa categories and encourage migrants to work and live in Australia and its regional areas.

Amitava Deb

• Amitava is a gold medallist from India’s premier technical institute, IIT Kharagpur.
• He has worked with some of the world’s top companies such as Sony Australia Pty. Ltd., Siemens AG Germany, Clarity International Ltd., Reliance Communications and Optus Sydney.
• Amitava is a Chartered Professional Engineer accredited by Engineers Australia. He is a full member of this esteemed association.
• He is a member of the Australian Computer Society, Tele Management Forum and Worldwide Institute of Software Architects.
• Amitava is a well-recognised name in the ICT Professional Community in Australia.