The Best Visa Types While Australian Borders Are Closed

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2020 has been a crazy year so far and we can all remain hopeful that 2021 will be slightly better! In terms of Australian visa options, the closing of borders and the lockdown of many government offices, it has certainly been harder than ever to get a visa.

We wanted to give you a brief rundown of which visa types are still being processed and what the best options are for migrating to Australia:

 

Partner Visas:

There has been a significant increase in the amount of Partner visas that can be granted this financial year, with priority processing given to applications where the sponsor lives in regional Australia. Partner visas are still being processed regardless of whether you are inside or outside Australia. The standard eligibility criteria remains unchanged but there will additional English and Character requirements introduced next year.

 

Employer Sponsored Visas

The Department of Home Affairs continues to prioritise the processing of employer sponsored visas applications, especially those for occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List. If you have an employer willing to sponsor you and can satisfy the skill criteria for an approved occupation, then you may be eligible for the following categories of visas:

• Temporary Skill Shortage Subclass 482 visa;
• Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 186 visa; or
• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Subclass 494 visa.

For individuals applying outside of Australia, they also need to satisfy the current travel restriction exemption criteria in order to travel into the country on these visas.

 

General Skilled Migration Visas:

The number of available places for these categories of visas (e.g Subclass 189, Subclass 190 and Subclass 491) has been significant reduced this financial year. Currently only those who have nominated health or medical occupations are being invited to apply for these visas. For the foreseeable future, only applicants who have nominated occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (critical occupations) are likely to receive an invitation to apply for these visas. Each State and Territory should confirm by the end of November the occupations that they will nominate for a Subclass 190 visa. We recommend subscribing to our newsletter below to keep updated with changes regarding these visas.

For individuals who hold Subclass 189, 190 or 491 visas and are outside of Australia, they need to satisfy the current travel restriction exemption criteria in order to travel into the country on these visas.

 

Global Talent Independent program

The Australian government has tripled the amount of visas that can be granted through the Global Talent Independent program to 15,000. This is currently the fastest pathway to obtain Australian permanent residency. To be eligible to apply for the GTI program, individuals must nominate one of the seven target sectors of AgTech, Space and Advanced Manufacturing, FinTech, Energy and Mining Technology, MedTech, Cyber Security or Quantum Information, Advanced Digital, Data Science and ICT as well as:

• Have employment experience at an executive level; or
• Are an Honours or Masters graduates who have completed their studies in the last three years and have an overall grade-point average of 80 (or above) out of 100; or
• Are a PhD student who has completed their studies in the last 3 years, or are in their final 6 months of submitting their thesis.

 

Business Innovation and Investor

The Australian Government are encouraging eligible individuals to apply for these visas if they are:

• Have a successful career as a business owner; or
• Will make significant investments in the country; or
• Are entrepreneurs

Holders of this category of visa are automatically exempt from the current travel restrictions.

 

Student Visas

Student visa applications are currently processed as normal.

However, unless any of the specific exemptions apply , a Student Visa holder may not be able to travel to Australia unless they can satisfy the standard travel restriction exemption criteria.

 

COVID-19 Pandemic Event Stream, Subclass 408 Visa

Temporary Activity Subclass 408 visas are still available through this stream for applicants in Australia who have no other visa options and are unable to depart Australia.

 

We recommend booking a consultation with one of migration agents if you have any questions regarding your visa eligibility!