Skilled Migration Program

The skilled migration program refers to the Skilled Stream of the Migration Program which has been designed to attract skilled migrants who make a significant contribution to the Australian economy and fill skills shortages in the labour market.

For the 2024-25 migration program, the migration planning levels have been set at 185,000 places, of which the Skill Stream has been allocated 132,200 places (approximately 71% of the program). This year, the Skill Stream has been designed to play an important role in the development of regional Australia through providing skills and labour which can’t be sourced locally, as well as encouraging investment and promoting local spending in regional areas.

The Skilled Migration Program comprises of the following skilled visa categories:

Employer Sponsored
Skilled Independent
Regional
State/Territory Nominated, and
Global Talent

Most skilled professionals who want to migrate to Australia without having an employer sponsor their visa would apply for either of the following three visas, which fall under the Skill Stream of the migration program:

Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) – Points Tested Stream
Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) – State Nomination
Skilled Work Regional Provisional Visa (Subclass 491) – State Nomination

You need to be invited by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to apply for any of the above visas. For the State Nominated visas, you first need to be nominated by a state/territory before you can receive an invitation to apply for the visa.

We have a detailed article about this which you can read here.

The above three are the most popular forms of permanent migration to Australia and have the following benefits:

Live, work and study in Australia
Receive public healthcare
Have your children attend a public school
Doesn’t require an employer to sponsor your visa
The 189 or 190 are permanent visas
The 491 visa leads to PR – Permanent Residence Skilled Regional visa (Subclass 191) – after 3 years
Sponsor your relatives to come to Australia (Only 189 & 190, not 491)
travel to and from Australia for 5 years
if eligible, become an Australian citizen

Points Tested Stream

The Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) allows invited skilled migrants with skills Australia needs, to live and work permanently anywhere in Australia.

For the 2024-25 Migration Program, the skilled independent category has 16,900 places allocated to it. Competition is very high as this is a points-tested visa. Once you submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect, you will be ranked against other skilled migrants and may be invited by the DHA to apply for the visa if you meet all the eligibility criteria.

Benefits of this visa:

This permanent visa lets you stay in Australia indefinitely. You become a permanent resident on the day your visa is granted.
For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day
Your visa is granted if you are in Australia
You enter Australia on this visa, if you are outside of Australia
Enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
You can include your spouse, child/children, de facto partner, de facto partner’s child (with certain age restrictions) in your application:
When you lodge your visa application or
Add them after you lodge your application but before your visa has been approved
Sponsor your parents/relatives to come to Australia
You can travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date your visa is granted. After 5 years, you will need a Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. If you become eligible for citizenship and it’s granted through conferral, you can apply for an Australian passport and re-enter Australia freely.

State Nomination

State nomination enables a state government to nominate highly skilled migrants to meet its skills shortages in key industry sectors that have been identified by that state as critical.

For skilled migrants, state nomination can assist them to qualify for a skilled migration visa from the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs (DHA), providing additional points toward their visa application.

Under state nomination, there are two skilled migration visa options available:

Skilled Nominated (Permanent) Visa (Subclass 190) – This is a permanent visa that allows skilled migrants to live and work anywhere in the state that nominates the applicant. You must be nominated by a state before you are invited by the DHA to apply for the visa.
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 491) – This is a state nominated provisional visa for skilled migrants that allows them to live and work in designated regional areas in that state for up to five years and can provide a pathway to permanent residency.

To be eligible for one of the state’s nomination pathways, your occupation must be on the eligible skilled occupation list.

Every state/territory has its own eligibility requirements for nomination. You must ensure that you meet these requirements to be eligible to receive your nomination. Every state has its own nomination obligations which you need to sign on a declaration form before receiving your nomination. If you are nominated, you must meet those obligations.

Once you are nominated, you will be invited by the DHA to apply for your visa. The DHA has its own set of eligibility requirements that an applicant needs to meet before a visa can be granted.

We have a detailed article about this which you can read here.

More details about the state nomination program for each state can be found by following the links below:

NSW State Nomination Program

VIC State Nomination Program

SA State Nomination Program

WA State Nomination Program

TAS State Nomination Program

QLD State Nomination Program

NT Government Nomination Program

Many legislative changes have been introduced as a commitment to the Migration Program Strategy, which was established to ensure that Australia’s permanent Migration Program can meet a range of economic, social and demographic objectives and priorities.

If you need any assistance with your visa application, please contact us today!

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.