How to get permanent residency in Australia?
As Australian permanent residency is highly coveted, it is a complex and long process. However, there are multiple avenues through which you can get an Australian permanent resident (PR) visa.
People seeking to come to Australia usually come on Student Visas or Working Visas. These are temporary visas that allow you to stay in Australia to study or work for a temporary period.
Permanent visas on the other hand allow you to live in Australia indefinitely. A popular way in which people get permanent residency in Australia is through General Skilled Migration. This includes skilled visas such as the Skilled Nominated Visa and the Skilled Independent Visa.
Both the Skilled Nominated and Independent visas require an invitation before the applicant can proceed with applying for the permanent visa. After lodging an Expression of Interest, you may receive an invitation to apply for a permanent visa. This largely depends on the occupation under which you have lodged an expression of interest, and the number of points you have under that occupation.
Notably, there are options for permanent residency in Australia through employer sponsorship as well. For example, the Subclass 186 visa allows an Australian employer to nominate and sponsor a skilled worker for an occupation. This is a permanent visa that has some conditions related to employment.
Furthermore, Australia also offers permanent visas in regional areas. For example, the Subclass 191 visa allows people who have lived and worked in designated regional areas of Australia on an eligible visa, live and work in Australia permanently.
All these different visa types have different conditions and eligibility requirements. It is important to speak with immigration lawyers who can provide you with legal advice if you are seeking skilled permanent visas.
Immigration lawyers can:
- Help you identify which visas you are eligible for
- Provide advice with which skilled occupation to nominate, and subsequently help with skill assessment procedures.
- Provide legal guidance for visa application processes.
- Help with application review in case of visa refusals.
