A visa in this category is for ‘Points-Tested’ applicants who are nominated by a State or Territory government or those who are sponsored by an eligible family member to live and work in Regional Australia .
‘Regional’ Australia is now regarded as every part of Australia (except the cities of Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane). However, regional areas of NSW & Victoria are eligible in this
category such as the ‘Gold Coast’ in ‘Queensland’ or ‘Byron Bay’ in NSW.
Also note that the entire States of South & Western Australia (including the cities of Adelaide and Perth) are also regarded as Regional Australia for the purposes of this visa.
There are over 500 more additional occupations available to regional applicants to work in regional Australia than exist in the ‘Independent Skilled Migration’ category and visa
applications in this category get priority processing.
With this visa you can;
- stay in Australia for 5 years
- apply for permanent residence, if eligible, after 3 years.
- live, work and study in any part of a designated region of Australia and
- travel to and from Australia as many times as you want
The current pass-mark for Points-tested migrants in this category is 65, however, significant incentives to apply for Skilled Migration to Regional Australia exist (conditions apply), and now that Perth in WA and the Gold Coast in QLD is classed as regional, applying in this category has significant incentives such as;
- The award of 10 additional points to your spouse or de facto partner if they are assessed as skilled.
- The award of 5 additional points if they are not.
- The award of 10 additional points to applicants without a spouse or de facto partner (i.e. they are single).
- The award of 10 additional points to applicants with an Australian citizen or permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen spouse or de facto partner;
- The award of 10 additional points for certain Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics qualifications;
- The award of 15 additional points to an applicant nominated by a State or Territory government agency or sponsored by a family member residing in regional Australia (for an applicant that will live and work in regional Australia)
The English language threshold has also been lowered which will greatly benefit non-English speaking immigrants.
To fully understand the factors that will affect your eligibility and to determine if you meet the basic requirements for a Regional Visa please complete a General Enquiry today. So that we can assess your immigration eligibility.
OR contact our UK Office by telephone at 74 8753 8231 or by email to lesley@ascmigrationvisas.co.uk
OR contact our Australian Office by telephone 08 9301 5905 or by email to john@ascmigrationvisas.com.au