Key terms: Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa – Subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored visa – Immigration SA – State Nomination – End of Financial Year 2018

Immigration SA (South Australia) has announced that the online application system for the subclass 190 State Nominated Visa and subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa (State) nominations for South Australia will close at 9 a.m. Monday, 25 June 2018 (South Australian time).

If you do not submit and pay for the SA State Nomination application before the system closure, the incomplete application will be deleted.

You are advised to submit your SA state nomination application before the system closure, so that you are protected from any possible new changes on 1 July 2018.

However do note that you should only submit complete and well supported applications, to allow smooth processing of your application and a positive outcome.

If you need an assessment of your SA State nomination application, please contact Work Visa Lawyers as soon as possible to have an assessment.

Both the Victorian and Queensland Governments have announced that they are no longer accepting new Skilled Nominated Visa (Subclass 190) or Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 489) nomination applications due to a high volume of applications in the system causing a backlog.

Also, in South Australia (SA) there will be changes to General Skilled Migration (GSM) requirements and Regional Certifying Body (RCB) advice applications for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) Subclass 187 visa - Direct Entry stream.

Key terms: Migration Policy Changes – Online system outages – 1 July Changes – Western Australia State Migration – State Sponsorship – Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa – Subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored visa – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) – Australian citizenship

ImmiAccount System Outage on 30 June 2017

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has announced that the ImmiAccount system will not be available from the following times:

New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, Queensland

9pm AEST Friday 30 June until 1pm Saturday 1 July 2017

South Australia, Northern Territory

8.30pm ACST Friday 30 June until 12.30pm Saturday 1 July 2017

Western Australia

7pm AWST Friday 30 June until 11am Saturday 1 July 2017

If you are thinking about submitting an online visa application you will need to do so before the times above.

Key terms: South Australia State Sponsorship – Chain Migration – High Points Nomination - Supplementary Skill List – Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa – Subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa

Immigration South Australia (SA) has announced changes to its state sponsorship programme effective yesterday, 5^th April 2017. Two major changes were announced and the details are below.

Change to High Points Requirement

Immigration SA allows access to the Supplementary Skill List of occupations if a SkillSelect applicant is able to meet the high points requirement on the points test. Starting from yesterday the high points requirements has been increase from 80 to 85 points. Applicants will now need to seek additional 5 points to nominate occupations on the Supplementary Skill List or special condition occupations.

Occupations no longer eligible for High Points or Chain Migration Nomination

 2018 UPDATE:

Since 1 July 2015, Immigration South Australia (SA) has implemented a Supplementary Skilled List in addition to the normal State Occupation List as part of its state sponsorship programme. The Supplementary Skilled List includes all occupations that are not on the SA State Occupation List but are on the Federal Consolidated Skilled Occupational List (CSOL). Some of the occupations that can be accessed on the Supplementary Skilled List include:

• Generic business professionals such as Marketing, Advertising and HR professionals – Marketing Specialists, Marketing Managers, Recruitment Consultants, Commodities Traders
• Management Consultants and Policy Analysts
• Sales Representatives – Medical, ICT or Industrial
• Education professionals for example Lecturers, primary and secondary School Teachers
• Engineering Technicians
• Tradesworkers – Toolmakers, Florists, Sound Technicians, Interior Decorators, etc.

Who will benefit from the South Australia Supplementary Skilled List?

The SA Supplementary Skilled List is helpful for the following people:

• Applicants with occupations that are not suitable for a Skilled-Independent Subclass 189 visa, i.e. the nominated occupation is not on the Federal Skilled Occupation List (SOL)
• The applicant’s nominated occupation does not have a state or territory available to sponsor for a Skilled Sponsored Subclass 190 visa or a Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 489 visa

That is great! How can I access the South Australia Supplementary Skilled List?

An applicant can access the Supplementary Skilled List if they can meet one of the following conditions:

• The applicant is an international graduate from South Australia
• The applicant is currently working in South Australia
• The applicant qualifies for chain migration where a close family member is residing in South Australia for 12 months or more
• The applicant achieves 80 points or more for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) points test

Click on the links above to find out more details from the Immigration SA website. Applicants will still need to fulfil the general state sponsorship requirements.

Is it possible to accumulate 80 points for the Skilled Migration Points Test?

Typically most skilled applications claim 60 to 70 points for their applications. To claim 80 points applicants are likely to have Superior English ability, age between 25 and 32 years and have Australian studies or a PhD. Here is an example:

As demonstrated above it is possible to achieve the 80 points required with some room for manoeuvre.

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

At a recent meeting with Immigration SA, it was interesting to find out that there were a lot of applications submitted for the Supplementary Skilled List occupations under the claims for 80 points or more. As the only state sponsorship authority willing to consider all occupations on the CSOL, it is not surprising that many applicants now flock towards SA to obtain state sponsorship. However, applicants should thoroughly check and make sure that they can meet the points claimed to ensure a successful state sponsorship application.

Applicants should also consider the other criteria to access the Supplementary Skilled List. The current South Australian employment and chain migration criteria will definitely be useful for temporary overseas workers in SA and the relatives of Australian permanent residents in SA.

If the large numbers of applications submitted to Immigration SA thus far are all eligible, we might see Immigration SA suspend certain occupations for state sponsorship as some of the occupations will hit the state planning numbers for the fiscal year. It would be best to apply as soon as possible. Contact us now to find out if you can apply for SA state sponsorship.

Source:

1. http://www.migration.sa.gov.au/skilled-migrants/nomination-process/eligibility-summary

This information is accurate on 4 August 2015

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications, including state sponsorship applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as Migration Review Tribunal, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 7225 5091 or +61 8 7225 5091

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