We noticed that Immigration South Australia has changed its name to Move to South Australia.
Move to South Australia has updated its criteria for interim 491 and 190 nominations to support and prioritise South Australia’s economic recovery and public health response.
Trades Recognition Australia, also known as TRA, is the skill assessment authority for trade occupations. For example, occupations such as chefs, bricklayers, electricians and plumbers are all assessed by TRA.
TRA assesses whether the applicant’s qualifications, skills and employments meet Australian standards for migration purposes.
There are several assessment pathways and it is important that you choose the correct one to apply for.
The world is changing quickly and to keep up with it, we have some updates for you on the Global Talent Independent visa.
If you think you are eligible to apply for a GTI, take only 5 minutes to complete our free online GTI assessment form. Our lawyers and registered migration agents will assess your eligibility and get back to you.
The Global Talent Independent program has been held up as the fastest way to get a permanent visa in Australia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing the Expression of Interest processing times slowing down for some applicants. This seems to be especially the case for applicants who are applying from outside of Australia.
This may be due to the Department prioritising Global Talents who are already inside Australia.
What impacts Global Talent visa processing times?
There are a number of factors which might be contributing to current processing times.
The Department's priorities for global talent visa processing are set out in Direction No. 85.
This specifies that for distinguished talent applications, they are to be considered in the following order:
Priority 1 (the following are equal in priority):
You have an Australian job offer paying higher than the $158,500 Fair Work High Income Threshold, or
You are currently earning more than the $158,500 Fair Work High Income Threshold
You can show that you are likely to attract a salary greater than the $158,500 Fair Work High Income Threshold
Priority 2:
All other distinguished talent applications
The Department has indicated in its information that "likely to attract" can be shown in a number of ways, including through high grades (80% or higher) in a recent higher level qualification (Honours, Masters, PhD).
Priority for Hong Kong Candidates?
In its announcements to support Hong Kong SAR passport-holders, the Department has included references to the Global Talent Independent visa. It seems that the Department of Home Affairs will be prioritising GTI visa applications (even more so than the normal priority given to GTI) for Hong Kong SAR passport-holders.
Australian Computer Society (ACS) Nominations
We are still waiting on further information from the ACS regarding their nomination process.
We have recently been updated that ACS will nominate those who have been invited through the Expression of Interest process.
If you are looking to be nominated by ACS under one of their target sectors, read more about the process by clicking here.
We look forward to having further updates on this soon.
How can Work Visa Lawyers help?
Work Visa Lawyers can help you with all steps in the Global Talent Independent visa application process, including with applications for nomination from the ACS.
Our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents look forward to assisting you with your Australian visa or appeal.
Contact us on (08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Book an appointment with one of our experienced Immigration Lawyers and Registered Migration Agents here.
Victoria Business Nomination Remain Closed 26 November 2020 - 188 visa and 132 visa
Business innovation and investor visa nomination applications (subclass 188A, 188B, and 188E streams and subclass 132A and 132B streams) remain closed to new applications as announced on 26 November 2020. Significant Investor (subclass 188C) visa nominations have opened on 30 November 2020 in Victoria.
Victoria has reopened its 2020-2021 nomination for 188 visa and 132 visa on 8 September 2020.
All applications must meet new criteria and be submitted before 21 September 2020 at 5 pm AEST, giving only 2 weeks to apply!
Explanation of what your contribution to the recovery will be (200 words or less) in either:
Business activity
Investment activity
This is according to news published by Live in Melbourne. We expect further information following the Federal Budget around 6 October 2020.
Victoria Skilled Migration - 491 visa and 190 visa
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that Victoria continues to use the interim allocation places beyond 5 October 2020.
By 02 October 2020, Victoria's temporary allocation for 2020-21 were:
600 places for skilled subclass 190
200 places for skilled subclass 491
400 places for the business innovation and investment program
Victoria has received more than 2,400 registrations of interest received from skilled migrants, and more than 480 application from business migrants.
On 26 November 2020, Victoria has annouced that the skilled program (subclass 190 and subclass 491) remain closed to new applications. They continue to select high calibre skilled migrants for nomination from the pool of Registration of Interest submissions.
Once Victoria receives confirmation of its full 2020-21 nomination allocations for the skilled and business migration programs, it would reopen its 2020-2021 nomination for 491 visa and 190 visa soon.
It will only select applicants to apply for Victorian visa nomination if their Registration of Interest demonstrates they are working in health or medical research and contributing to Victoria’s economic recovery and/or health response.
To be considered for Victorian visa nomination, you must submit a Registration of Interest for Victorian State Visa Nomination. Applicants who register their interest may then be selected to apply for Victorian visa nomination.
To be eligible to submit your Registration of Interest (ROI) for Victorian visa nomination (subclass 190 and 491) you must
be currently living in Victoria, and
be currently employed in Victoria (minimum six months), and
work in a highly-skilled occupation in health or medical research, which supports Victoria’s economic recovery and/or health response
VIC will then select the best candidates to apply for Victorian visa nomination.
If you are interested in applying for a subclass 491 or a subclass 190 visa, you will need to be nominated by an Australian state or territory. At present, all the states and territories in Australia are closed for new nominations. This is because the Federal Government has not yet announced the quota for the program 2020-21 year.
The subclass 190 and subclass 491 visas are point-based visas, requiring visa applicants to have a minimum of 65 points, plus be nominated by an Australian State or Territory.
There is no indication for when nomination applications will be accepted again, therefore it is imperative that you have all your documents ready to lodge an application as soon as possible. Some states may work on a 'first come, first served' basis, as such, being prepared to apply for nomination as soon as applications are open may work in your favour.
In this article, we give you 4 tips to improve your chances of getting state nomination.
In this video, we are joined by Scott Johnston from Swoosh English to give us an insight into the popular International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Pearson Test of English (PTE) tests, including some helpful tips and tricks to get the best English results.
An Australian Visa refusal can be devastating for everyone involved and can put your future in Australia in immediate jeopardy and uncertainty. However, your visa refusal does not necessarily mean it is the end of your pathway to Australia.
In this article, we answer some of the most commonly asked questions for applicants that have received visa refusals.
After months of not releasing the number of invitations issued through SkillSelect, the Department of Home Affairs has finally released the invitation rounds for May and June 2020. Not everyone will be happy with the results.
International students are important to Australia as they have made a major contribution in Australia’s economy and Australian society. To limit the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on international students, the Federal Government have announced five major changes which will impact the students currently in Australia and those who are overseas and are unable to travel to Australia due to Covid 19.