The South Australian government has now released its 2019-2020 Skilled Migration Occupation Lists, if you have previously applied or are now interested in applying for state nomination in South Australia under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program, now could be your chance.

As stated on the Government of South Australia website, there are now 275 occupations available on the State Nominated Occupation List (SNOL) for applicants currently residing offshore or for those already residing in South Australia.
Some occupations now available on the State Nomination occupation list include, Health, Engineering, ICT, Teaching and STEM and Trade occupations.

In addition to the 275 occupations available on the State Nominated occupation list, there are also a further 233 additional occupations listed on the Supplementary Skilled List (SSL). The occupations listed on the SSL are available to four categories of applicants who have a strong commitment to South Australia or are highly qualified in their nominated occupation.

Why Choose South Australia

South Australia is a great place to live and is a beautiful part of the Australian Landscape. It is home to the iconic Kangaroo Island, an internationally renowned wildlife heaven.
If you’re a wine lover, you may have even heard of the famous Barossa Valley wine region. Barossa Valley is Australia’s richest and most well-known wine region in Australia. Not only will you find Barossa Valley in South Australia, but you will also find other wine regions such as the Clare Valley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra as well.

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia. It is a beautiful city and has achieved many accolades. For example it was recently ranked one of  the globes ‘Most Friendly Cities’ in the World and ‘Most Liveable’ cities.

Adelaide has many trams roaming through the city CBD giving the city a pleasant village vibe. The city also offers many free transport services including buses and the free hire of bicycles. Adelaide’s has a great foodie scene with draws global praise with the Adelaide Central Market recently listed on Lonely Planet’s ‘Ultimate Eatlist’.

South Australia is an ideal place for young families to migrate to with reasonable rental prices, lots of job vacancies and fantastic schools. Some positions available for Skilled Migrants looking to apply for regional pathways subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa and subclass 494 employer sponsored regional provisional visa are;

• Sales & Marketing Manager
• Human Resource Manager
• Construction Project Manager
• Cafe or Restaurant Manager
• Hotel or Motel Manager
• Customer Service Manager

You can view the full list of occupations available here.

If you would like to find out if you eligible for migration to South Australia please contact our team of experts by calling +61 8 9221 4888, completing our online assessment or booking an appointment online with one of our RMA’s

Online Assessment form

The post South Australia Migration Now Open appeared first on Easy Migrate.

Pros and cons of the newly announced visa for the Australian regional areas

Two new regional visas, came into force this month, have opened the door for qualified immigrants to obtain permanent residence and ultimately citizenship. 

The new regional pathways are excellent news for potential migrants who want to live in Australia, but there is one problem: you have to live and work in a specific or regional area.

If you meet this requirement, this could open the door to obtain permanent residence. After a few years, you may even be eligible for citizenship.

The Australian government announced that eligible immigrants would receive two new temporary visas that started on 16th November 2019. The list for these visas includes hundreds of occupations, including real estate agents, journalists, accountants, paramedics, filmmakers, historians, among other things, will be able to apply for this visa.

Persons who have been granted a regional visa may apply for permanent residence if they demonstrate that they have lived in a given area for at least three years.

The two new visas are:

• (Skilled Work Regional) Visa – Subclass 491
• Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa- Subclass 494 Skilled

Pros and Cons

“States are very interested in this because it creates the motivation to live in small cities,”

The Government has also simplified the definition of Australia’s territory. With the exception of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane metro postcodes, all Australia has been reclassified for immigration purposes.

This means that skilled immigrants can settle in satellite cities such like Wollongong, Newcastle or Geelong not far from Sydney or Melbourne. Other options include the Gold Coast, an hour’s drive from Brisbane and Perth the capital city of Western Australia.

Immigration agent Cyus Mistry say that these cities are ready to benefit more from the new changes.

Cyrus also said that regional visa holders will also

“qualify for health insurance, which will reduce the cost of living for families States are very interested in this because it creates the motivation to live in small cities .”

Benefits for International Students

For international students, students studying in Australia, the “Postgraduate Visa” can be extended to “three or four years” or, in some cases, if the student takes a two-year course in a regional city, the visa can be extended to “three or four years”. Conditions apply.

Most importantly, “the vast majority of states have permanent residency nomination programs for their graduates, so the study becomes the way to permanent residence.”

Mr. Mistry said these are “particularly exciting programs” in Perth.

Online Assessment form

The post Pros and Cons of New Regional Visas appeared first on Easy Migrate.

By Emma Gallagher

On 16th November 2019 Australia launched its new regional migration scheme. Scott Morrisons Government announced in March 2019 that it was “stepping up its commitment to regional Australia” by ensuring that the Australian migration system encourages skilled migrants to live and work in smaller cities and regions.

From Saturday 16th November 2019 most locations of Australia outside major cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) are classed as designated regional areas for migration purposes.

The designated regional areas will be split into two categories:

1. Cities and major regional centres
2. Regional centres and other areas

Each category will have access to regional benefits:

• 25,000 dedicated regional places
• regional visa applications will have priority processing
• more occupations will be added to Regional Occupation List
• international graduates with a bachelor or higher qualification from a regional campus of a registered institution will be eligible for an extra year in Australia on a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
• Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) can also be negotiated for some region-specific regional centres and other regional areas.

Cyrus Mistry Comments

Cyrus Mistry is the founder of EasyMigrate, where he has been specialising
in Australian migration for 20 years.

It is good to see this bold initiative by the Federal Goverment. There will be 504 “occupations” avaiable for the new subcalss 491 and about 650 occupations for the company sponsored subclass494.

We are hoping that the State Governments support this initiative by including these occupations for state-nomination. (Only Victoria has said “yes” to the listat the time of writing this article). I encourage prospective migrants to look seriously at this new option that has opened.

The subclass 491 & subclass 494 visas are provisional visas for five years and you can get “permanent residency” after three years of living and working in “Regional”

New Regional Postcodes

The Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) has a list of postcodes that specify designated regional areas.

The list of postcodes applies to the following visas:

Regional visas:

Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494)
Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)* – designated regional areas only apply to visa holders nominated by a State and Territory government agency whose visa was granted after 16 November 2019.

Skilled visas:

Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

Employer sponsored visas:

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187)
Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) – only if the position is located in regional Australia, the nomination fee is waived.
Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) – if using an occupation on the Regional Occupation List for this subclass.

Business investment visas

Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888)
State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner visa (subclass 892)

Online Assessment form

The post New Designated regional areas in Australia appeared first on Easy Migrate.

More skilled migrants look set to fulfil their dream of living in Australia if they consider moving to regional area….

Emma Gallagher (EasyMigrate marketing manager), has had an article about relocating to regional Australia featured in this months edition of the UK’s Australia New Zealand magazine. 

POINTS-TESTED MIGRATION

Skilled Migration visas are by far the most common migration pathway to Australia. These visas allow foreign nationals who are successful in their respective occupations to live in Australia as permanent residents.
To be eligible for a skilled visa pathway, you must meet certain criteria. For
instance, your occupation must be on one of the skill shortages lists, and you must thave scored a minimum number of points. Points are based on age (and they decrease the older a person is), qualifications, work experience, an English test and a state-based points system, depending on the kinds of skilled workers each state requires.
From July 2018 the “pass mark” increased from 60 to 65 points. In
addition to this, the number of applicants and the competition from this, means that for many, it is unlikely that they will get an invitation unless they have over 70 points.
Perth-based migration agent Cyrus Mistry says that getting enough points is
particularly difficult for older people with trade skills, which he said are the
occupations most in-demand in some areas of Australia. He regularly sees UK applicants on waiting lists for up two years.

❛ The number of applicants means that it
is unlikely that they will get an invitation
unless they have over 70 points❜

Anthony Kelly from Northern Ireland was one of these people. Anthony says that he had enough points to apply for an EOI back in August 2017. He lodged his EOI, and in his mind, he would be in Australia by August 2018, and he could not have been more wrong. Anthony had 60 points, which were the minimum back in 2017. He received an email last month (August 2019) from the Australian Skill Select department telling him that his EOI had expired.
Unfortunately, thousands of people who lodge an EOI receive this email after waiting two very long years. Fortunately for Anthony, he is now in
Australia as he had a regional 489 visa granted through the Northern Territory January 2019. Anthony says that he wanted to be in Perth, Western Australia, as his brothers and their families are located there, but when he realised he might never get an invitation he decided
to look at other options. Anthony says that he considered giving
up on Australia entirely and was going to try for New Zealand, but he was advised him to apply for the Northern Territory. Anthony lodged his EOI to the Northern Territory Government September 2018; he received an invitation October 2018 and his visa was granted January 2019.
The 489 visa is a provisional visa for four years, and provided Anthony meets the conditions of living in the Northern Territory for one year, and working in the state for two years he can then apply for permanent residency. Anthony says that he is happy at the outcome, and as he
sees it, he could be still in the UK waiting for an invitation, but he is in
Australia and has nearly completed his first year in the Northern Territory.

REGIONAL PATHWAYS

The current Australian Government is tackling the impact of increasing
population in its biggest cities, like Sydney and Melbourne, by promoting
Regional Australia as a more assessable migration option. Designated Area
Migration Agreement (DAMA) applications have increased, with the
Northern Territory, the Western Australian Goldfields, Victoria’s Great
South Coast, the city of Adelaide and Regional South Australia, the Orana
region of New South Wales and Far North Queensland all having DAMAs
in place.

❛A DAMA labour agreement is between
the Government and endorsed
employers within an eligible region❜

Cyrus Mistry says that a DAMA labour agreement is between the Australian
Government and endorsed employers operating within an eligible region.
Under DAMA, employers in the designated areas experiencing skills and
labour shortages can sponsor skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers.
The Goldfields region in Western Australia currently has an active

DAMA agreement covering 73 occupations. The City of Kalgoorlie-
Boulder, which is located just under 600 kilometres from Perth, want migrants to come and live in their community.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder offers a family orientated, small-town “old-school
Australian” lifestyle. According to John Walker, the CEO of the City of
Kalgoorlie-Boulder, the town has an estimated 1,500 job vacancies in a range of industries, including mining, engineering, construction, childcare,
hospitality and healthcare, among others. Earlier this year, the Australian
government announced two new regional (provisional) visas. The Subclass 491 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa will have 14,000 places to allocate each year and the Subclass 494 Skilled Employer- Sponsored visa will have 9,000 places to allocate each year. These will come into
effect November 2019.
Anthony Kelly says that people should not be discouraged by regional Australia but see it as an opportunity to fulfil their dream of living in Australia.
He said: “I am nearly one year in and it has gone so quick. After two years, if I want to, then I can go back to Perth.”
Fiona Ward, who migrated to Kalgoorlie-Boulder from the UK eight
years ago, said that she thought she would prefer Sydney o r Melbourne, but they were too big and fast-paced. She has made Kalgoorlie her home and runs a successful construction company with her husband,who is also from the UK.

Online Assessment form

The post Why Choose Regional Australia appeared first on Easy Migrate.

Effective 16 November, the Australian Children’s Education & Care Authority, (ACECQA), will become an authority for assessing applications for the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional subclass 494 visa scheme in the child care centre manager and child care worker categories. 

The change comes amidst the replacement of the old 187 visa with the new potentially more attractive 494 visa which has been designed to incentivise more overseas skilled workers to migrate to Australia and settle in regional communities where skills gaps exist. 

The change will be of interest not only to those working in these roles and seeking to immigrate to Australia, but also to those with a responsibility for HR functions within the early childhood education and care (ECEC) context. 

Under the previous rules Trades Recognition Australia were the key assessing body responsible for providing an assessment service for people with trade skills gained overseas for the purposes of migration when it came to child care related roles. Moving forward ACECQA will assume responsibility for this function. 

Successful applicants will need an employer to commit to offering a suitable position to the candidate for at least three years, and have at least three years relevant skills experience approved by ACECQA. 

Should these core criteria and other secondary criteria be met the applicant will receive a five year 494 visa and the option to apply for permanent residence after three years.

ACEQCA have highlighted their new responsibilities in an update on their website which can be found here and committed to providing full details, including application forms and assessment requirements ahead of the changes taking effect on 16 November 2019.  

The legislation confirming the change can be found here. 

The post ACECQA to become migration assessing authority for new-look regional visa scheme appeared first on Easy Migrate.

By Emma Gallagher

Thousands of UK families dream of relocating to Australia, and for good reasons. Australia offers excellent job opportunities, an efficient healthcare system, fantastic weather, first-class education, unspoilt nature and a laid-back lifestyle to name only a few of its drawcards. 

Unfortunately for many, the dream of living “Down Under” turns into a long, complicated waiting game with the Majority of UK migrants coming to Australia through the independent skilled migrant pathway. At first, it seems a straight forward process – Check your eligibility, submit an expression of interest (EOI), wait for an invitation and lastly, apply for your visa. For some, it is that easy, but as many people are discovering, waiting for an invitation that may never come is crushing. 

Skilled Migration 

Independent skilled visas are by far the most common skilled pathway to Australia. These visas allow foreign nationals who with suitable qualifications and/or experience in occupations deemed to be in demand, to live in Australia as permanent residents. To be eligible for a skilled visa, you must have a profession that is listed on one of the relevant Australian skilled occupations lists. You must score a minimum number of points in a “points test”. The Australian Government award points based on age, level of qualifications attained, years of work experience, English language competency as well as other factors depending on the applicant’s circumstances. 

From July 2018 the minimum points required for skilled visas increased from 60 to 65 points. However the number of places that can be invited in a year is set by the Australian government, and the competition is fierce. The sheer number of applicants vying for these invitation means that currently, you are unlikely to receive an invitation to apply with less than 80 points (some occupations are now requiring as much as 90 points to receive an invite). 

Cyrus Mistry (a Perth-based Registered Migration Agent) explains that “scoring enough points is particularly difficult for older applicants with trade skills, which are in particular demand in some areas of Australia”. Mr Mistry says that he regularly sees UK applicants on waitlists for up two years. Anthony Kelly from Northern Ireland was one of these people. Having achieved the minimum 60 points required in August 2017, Mr Kelly lodged his expression of interest with the hope he would be living in Australia by mid-2018. Unfortunately, having waited two years without receiving an invite to apply, Mr Kelly instead received an email on August 2019 that his EOI had expired. This is a disappointing reality for thousands of well-intentioned prospective applicants every year. 

Mr Kelly said he had considered giving up on moving to Australia and was considering other destinations when he was advised by Mr Mistry to consider different visa pathways offered in regional Australia. Fortunately for Mr Kelly, he heeded his Agent’s advice and is now happily living in Australia, having obtained a Skilled Regional visa to live and work in Australia’s Northern Territory. This visa allows Mr Kelly to live and work in regional Australia and, subject to living and working in regional Australia for a specified period, offers a pathway to permanent residence. Mr Kelly said he could not be more happy with the outcome and that he would still be waiting in the UK if it had not been for the advice to consider the opportunities in regional Australia. 

Regional Australia Pathways 

The Australian Government has recently made it a focus of its Migration program to tackle the impacts of an increasing population in major cities like Sydney and Melbourne by promoting visa pathways in Regional Australia where there is an appetite for population growth and, in particular, considerable demand for skilled migrants. 

One such visa pathway has been the expansion of the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) scheme. These are labour agreements allowing eligible employers in designated regional areas to access skilled and semi-skilled workers from overseas to fill local labour market shortages. Mr Mistry advises that DAMAs are an increasing focus of the Australian Government’s migration program and that several DAMAs has been announced in the last six months, with more DAMA applications in the pipeline. Currently, there are DAMAs in place in the Northern Territory, the Goldfields in Western Australia, Great South Coast in Victoria, Adelaide City, Regional South Australia, Orana region in New South Wales and Far North Queensland – with more expected to be announced soon. 

The Goldfields region in Western Australia currently has DAMA covering 73 occupations. The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, located less than 600km from Perth, has been particularly vocal in their desire to have skilled migrants come to live in and grow their regional communities. Kalgoorlie-Boulder boasts small-town “old-school Australian” lifestyle where everyone comes together as a family. According to the CEO of the City, Kalgoorlie-Boulder has an estimated 1,500 job vacancies in a range of industries including mining, engineering, construction, healthcare, childcare and hospitality (amongst others). 

Earlier this year the Australian government announced two new regional visas to commence in November 2019 – the subclass 491 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa which will have 14,000 places allocated in the first year and the subclass 494 Skilled Employer-Sponsored visas which will have 9000 places allocated to it this financial year. 

Mr Kelly, who migrated to regional Australia earlier this year, said that people should not be discouraged by regional Australia but should instead see it as an opportunity to fulfil their dream of living in Australia. Fiona Ward, who migrated to Kalgoorlie-Boulder eight years ago, said she thought she would prefer Sydney or Melbourne, but they were too big and fast-paced. She has made Kalgoorlie home and runs a successful construction company with her husband, who is also from the UK. 

If you would like to find out more about regional pathways in Australia, Mr Mistry will be attending the Down Under Live exhibitions in Birmingham (5th – 6th October) and London (12th – 13th October). Cyrus Mistry is the Founding Partner of EasyMigrate and has been specialising in Australian Immigration since 2001. Cyrus will be joined at the exhibition by Sword Recruitment Specialists who work with several businesses looking to recruit skilled workers in industries and occupations suffering local labour market shortages. 

If you would like to find out more about Australian visas our migration agents will be happy to check your eligibility. If you would like advice from our team of Registered Migration Agents, book in for a consultation now.

The post Why Choose Regional Australia? appeared first on Easy Migrate.

The Times of India has reported that there has been a 25% surge on Indians enrolling as International Students in Australia. The Times of India spoke with Cyrus Mistry to find out more on how these students may be able to put down roots and live permanently in their host country. 

“Introduction of new Regional (Provisional) visas, which provide an option of conversion to permanent residency after a tenure of three years, could also be attractive to international students, provided they are willing to settle in regional areas.”

You can read the article in full here.

If you would like to find out more about studying in Australia our migration agents will be happy to check your eligibility. If you would like advice from our team of Registered Migration Agents, book in for a consultation now.

The post Indian students enrolling in Australia surged 25% in 2018 appeared first on Easy Migrate.

Fast Visa Processing Regional Australia

Every month Mr Cyrus Mistry (our principal immigration agent in Australia)  reviews the Department of Home Affairs SkillSelect results. In this months blog, he suggested that; 

“Most applicants with 60 or 65 points are not getting invited at all since last 18 months or so. Many 70-pointers are also not getting invitations for a long time. The solution would be to apply for state-nominations also, in parallel. We have many clients who were waiting for more than a year so, we did a file-review and recommended a suitable state-nomination option. Many of them got invited for permanent residency WITHIN 8-12 WEEKS!”

Today Friday 8th February 2019 Mr David Coleman (Minister of Immigration) has announced Skilled migrants who apply to move to regional Austalia will have their visa applications accelerated under a $19.4 million plan.

“Our officers will be on the ground to discuss regional migration opportunities with regional employers and communities, and also to hear first hand the local labour issues they face. Training and skilling Australians is one of our top priorities, but there is a need for additional workers to supplement the workforce, particularly in regional areas,“ Mr Coleman said.

The Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) officials will travel to regional areas across Australia to help businesses get the skilled workers they require, over the next four years. DoHA will establish priority processing for visas sponsored by employers in regional areas, along with agreements with local councils so they can recruit employees from overseas.

If you would like to find out if you qualify for Regional State Sponsorship or would like to know more about relocating to a regional area of Australia, please make an appointment to speak to us today;

• Book Online
• Email: reception@easymigrate.com
• Telephone: +61 8 9221 4888

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