Australia Immigration News

NSW Visa nomination for subclass 491 will be opened from 15th June 2020 to accept the applications for nomination till 23rd June 2020 at 5pm.

New South Wales will have a short time-frame to assess the application for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), so it is important that an application is complete. Incomplete applications or those who don’t meet all the requirements will not be processed further.

Payment links & applying process will be made available on the official website of New South Wales after applications have opened. Any documents submitted before applications have opened will not be considered.

Requirements for NSW Nomination Subclass 491

The applicant can only apply for NSW nomination if they meet the Department of Home Affairs’ requirements for this visa and:

• have an occupation on the NSW Stream 1 Regional Skilled Occupation List, and;
• have been living in a designated regional area in NSW for at least the last 12 months, and;
• have been working in a designated regional area in NSW for at least the last 12 months, and;
• have been working in your nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation, for at least the last 12 months.

NSW Occupation List 491 (NSW Stream 1 – Regional Skilled Occupation List)

Tasmania State Nomination Requirements have made ease for two categories of onshore candidates; one is Tasmanian Graduate and the second is Working in Tasmania for applying Tasmania State Sponsorship under General Skilled Migration program.

Category 1 – Tasmanian Graduate

The following information may change in response to decisions made by the Australian Government in relation to the Skilled Migration Program COVID-19 response. The Tasmanian Government may also introduce further changes to the state nomination program in response to COVID-19 or to align with the skills needs of the state. It is therefore important that you continue to check the Tasmania official website for any changes before applying for nomination.

– Students in Tasmania completing online study

Will accept online study with a Tasmanian CRICOS provider completed during the period courses were not able to be delivered on campus. Applicants must have been living in Tasmania during this period and must have completed all of their study in Tasmania.

– Graduates who have completed study in Tasmania but are unable to return after travelling overseas

Eligible for consideration if able to provide evidence course was completed in Tasmania, have temporarily left Tasmania and are unable to return due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Students must show that they were genuinely affected by travel restrictions and intend to return to Tasmania. These applicants must meet all other published requirements for subclass 190 or 491 nomination, including the minimum Tasmanian residence period.

– Currently overseas – partially completed course

Remote / online study for applicants who commenced their courses in Tasmania, departed temporarily and have been unable to return to Tasmania due to COVID 19 travel restrictions will be accepted where they have genuinely been unable to return to Tasmania. Applicants must have commenced course in Tasmania, lived in Tasmania for a minimum 12 months and completed a minimum total of 12 months study on campus.

– New enrolments – course commenced outside Tasmania

Applicants who commenced study with a Tasmanian institution, but were unable to arrive in Tasmania due to COVID-19 restrictions and commenced their studies remotely while waiting for restrictions to be lifted will be eligible for consideration if they:

1. Completed a two academic year course and arrived in Tasmania soon after restrictions were lifted; and
2. Lived and studied in Tasmania for a period of at least 12 months

Courses of one academic year must be completed solely in Tasmania – no period of remote study will be accepted. This includes students who enrolled in one year courses but did not arrive in Tasmania before entry restrictions.

Example:

I have enrolled in a one-year course but cannot yet move to Tasmania due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Will a period of online study completed interstate or overseas be accepted for Tasmanian nomination.

No. Applicants for subclass 491 nomination in Category 1 – Tasmanian Graduate must have completed one academic year (40 weeks) of study in Tasmania and lived in Tasmania for at least 12 months. While applications will be considered on a case by case basis, in general we will only accept online study where applicants had already commenced in Tasmania or the course is longer than 1 academic year. All applicants will be expected to have lived in Tasmania for 12 months to be eligible for nomination.

Graduates who have completed their qualification online or in another jurisdiction may also seek to meet one of Tasmania’s other nomination categories after moving to Tasmania and demonstrating their capacity to settle in and contribute to Tasmania in the long term, such as the Working in Tasmania or Small Business Owner categories.

Each application will be considered individually on its merits and considering the applicant’s skills, background and demonstrated capacity to contribute to and settle in Tasmania. However, completing a prior short period of study online, or in Tasmania once travel restrictions are lifted, will not necessarily give a graduate an advantage in nomination assessment.

Category 2 – Working in Tasmania

The following information may change in response to decisions made by the Australian Government in relation to the Skilled Migration Program COVID-19 response. The Tasmanian Government may also introduce further changes to the state nomination program in response to COVID-19 or to align with the skills needs of the state. It is therefore important that you continue to check this website for any changes before applying for nomination.

Flexibility will be applied to applicants genuinely affected by COVID-19 employment stand-downs before or after meeting the mandatory 6 month full-time employment.

Each application will be considered on its merits according to the particular industry, the skills of the applicant, and the likelihood of being able to return to and maintain full time in the future.

In general we will consider the following factors:

• A minimum 3 months full time employment up to the closure or business / reduction in hours.
• Full-time employment ceased directly due to a COVID-19 related closedown or restriction.
• There is a reasonable likelihood of being able to return to employment (full or part-time) after the workplace restrictions have been lifted – (i.e a written evidence from employer).

Reduction in hours from full-time to part-time as a result of COVID-19 restrictions will be considered with leniency.

Canberra held Matrix Invitation Round on 03rd June 2020 and sent invitations to Matrix submitted candidates for applying to state nomination and then apply for Australian Immigration.

In the recent Canberra matrix invitation round 03rd June 2020, 81 invitations issued to the candidates of subclass 190, and the minimum cut off points were 70 points.

Canberra has a backlog of previous pending 491 nomination applications which will be responded in June 2020 so invitations were issued exclusively for subclass 190 on 03rd June 2020.

Canberra is the capital of Australia and it has its own matrix system to check the eligibility for Skilled Migration.

Matrix contains several factors for points including ACT residence status, English proficiency, spouse English proficiency, occupation in ACT demand list, work experience, spouse employability, ACT job offer, overseas or interstate education, ACT education, assets in ACT, close family in ACT.

The minimum points requirements for submitting the matrix are 20. But before submitting the Canberra Matrix, the applicant should fulfill the requirements of the Department of Home Affairs.

Canberra advises to all COVID-19 impacted applicants, that they can request a waiver of the continuous employment requirements in different circumstances.

Skilled Nominated Subclass 190

It’s an option for permanent residency on a Skilled Immigration visa. It requires sponsorship from state or territory government.

Every state or territory also has its own requirements and occupation in demand list so in order to apply the specific state or territory, thorough research is essential.

Migrants have to live or work at least 2 years in nominated state or territory out of 5 years visa as an obligation.

SPARK Consulting helps the clients in getting Canberra Nomination for Australian Immigration. Find out if your nominated occupation in Australia Occupation List and use our Online Points Calculator tool for determining your eligibility for the General Skilled Migration of Australia. For expert advice, please contact us on 0331-1172275.