Are the remaining 189 invitations this financial year only going to medical and shortage occupations? A Plan B for hundreds of occupations like accounting, 2613 and engineering — PR in as little as 2 months!

Today we came across an internal Department of Home Affairs email that had been pulled from the files,which said that, back at the end of last year, the Department had already indicated that the remaining invitation rounds for the 2020-21 financial year would mainly target medical professions and critical-shortage occupations…

For anyone still pinning their hopes on a shortage occupation, here’s the reality:as at the October 2020 round, only 990 Subclass 189 EOI invitations had been issued; the January round this year has already been issued but not yet published in the official Gazette, and by the looks of it there’s no surprise there either — the only round left is April…

which means that for popular professions like accounting and auditing, and common occupations such as architecture, early childhood teaching, secondary school teaching and so on, waiting it out this financial year could well be a waste of time.As at the October 2020 round, invitation numbers for accounting, auditing, ICT2611/2613/2612/2631 and many other occupations were still sitting at zero, and among the occupations that weren’t at zero, quite a few had fewer than 20 invitations.

If you’ve been waiting patiently for a 189 invitation, doesn’t it hurt to watch those points you worked so hard to build up just sit there?

The good news is they don’t have to go to waste — you can put them to full use. This is especially true for popular and common occupations, where a large proportion of applicants who previously stacked points for skilled migration also haverelevantwork experience.

For applicants with work experience — especially those who feel like they’ve almost run out of options inaccounting, some IT fields and some engineering fields, as well asnursing— regardless of whether you’reonshore or offshore in Australia, an employer-sponsored visa is a solid option. There’s a good chance your current employer already qualifies to sponsor you, andemployer sponsorship doesn’t conflict with skilled migration itself — you can prepare both in parallel. It’s a very solid Plan B.

Priority processing for occupations on the PMSOL — and normal processing even if you’re not on it

Australia’s Subclass 482 employer-sponsored visa, in full the 482 Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (TemporarySkill Shortage Visa).Holders of this visa can work for an Australian company for 2–4 years. While holding a 482 temporary visa, you can access most Australian social benefits, including healthcare, education and so on.

The 482 visa mainly comes in short-term and long-term streams (Labour Agreements aren’t covered in this article), depending on whether the applicant’s occupation is on the short-term list, the long-term list, or the regional occupation list. If the applicant’s occupation is on the MLTSSL (medium and long-term list), they can be granted a visa of up to 4 years. If the applicant’s occupation is on the STSOL (short-term list), they can be granted a visa of up to 2 years.

After holding a 482 visa and working for the same employer for a full 3 years,482 applicants whose occupation is on the MLTSSL can then apply for the 186 TRT (temporary-to-permanent transition), whereas 482 applicants whose occupation is on the STSOL cannot transition to a 186 permanent visa.

Basic requirements for the 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa:

• Have a qualified employer providing sponsorship

• The nominated occupation needs to be on the corresponding occupation list

• The applicantmust have at least 2 years of relevant full-time work experi-ence related to the nominated position after graduating (or 4 years of equivalent part-time work experience)

• MLTSSL applicants need an IELTS score of four 5s, while STSOL applicants need an overall score of 5 with no band below 4.5 (or an equivalent score in another accepted English test)

• Meet health and character requirements

Points to note for the 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa:

1. Requirements for the employer

Like other employer-sponsored visas, the 482 assesses both the applicant’s and the employer’s circumstances. A company in sound financial health with strong growth prospects will find it easier to convince a case officer that they genuinely need to sponsor an overseas employee. The genuineness of the nominated position is also something that needs careful preparation — case officers will weigh up factors such as the employer’s organisational structure and core business to assess whether there is a genuine need for the nominated position.

On top of that, if an occupation carries caveat requirements, these must be met without exception.

For example, the accounting occupation must satisfy the following requirements:

1) The applicant cannot be in a low-level clerical, bookkeeping or accounting clerk role;
2) The business’s turnover cannot be below AUD 1 million;
3) The business cannot have fewer than 5 employees. Overlooking any one of these requirements will, without question, result in a visa refusal.

If you’re not sure whether your employer meets these requirements, feel free to reach out to us for an assessment.

2. Skills assessment

Not every 482 nominated occupation is exempt from a skills assessment — we recommend applicants get a professional migration agent to assess their situation in detail, because if a skills assessment issue makes an application invalid or leads to refusal, the consequences may be irreversible. Nominated positions commonly requiring a skills assessment include Chef, Cook and others.

3. The Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement

Many people probably aren’t aware of this and assume the GTE requirement only applies to the Subclass 500 student visa — in fact, the short-term stream of the 482 also carries a GTE requirement, and overlooking it will also increase the risk of refusal. Applicants need to prepare a reasonable and credible statement showing that they are entering Australia temporarily for work and have genuine reasons to return home. Before lodging this statement, we recommend having an experienced migration agent review whether the content is appropriate.

Age and English requirements can be waived in some cases — please contact me for an assessment

The 186 visa mainly comes in two streams. The first is the 186 Direct Entry, or 186 DE for short, which grants permanent residency in one step. The second is the 186 Temporary Residence Transition Stream, or 186 TRT for short, where the applicant already holds a temporary employer-sponsored visa (a 457 or 482 visa) and, after working for the same employer for at least 2 or 3 years, can convert to permanent residency.

186 DE basic requirements:

• Have a qualified employer providing sponsorship

• At the time of lodging the application, the applicant must be under 45 years of age

• At least three years of full-time work experience(or six years of equivalent part-time work experience)

• An IELTS score of four 6s(or an equivalent score in another accepted English test)

• Must pass a skills assessment

• The applicant’s nominated occupation is on the MLTSSL

• Meet health and character requirements

186 TRT basic requirements:

• Have a qualified employer providing sponsorship

• At the time of lodging the application, the applicant must be under 45 years of age, or under 50 under the old policy

• Have held a 457 and worked for the same employer for 2 years, or held a 482 and worked for the same employer for 3 years

• An IELTS score of four 6s (or an equivalent score in another accepted English test)

• No skills assessment required

• The applicant’s nominated occupation is on the MLTSSL

• Meet health and character requirements

Points to note for the 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (permanent) visa

1. Assessment of the employer’s circumstances is fairly comprehensive, and fairly strict;

The 186 visa doesn’t just have requirements for the applicant — it also has fairly high requirements for the employer. One key focus of assessment is the employer’s business performance. A company in sound financial health with strong growth prospects will find it easier to convince a case officer that they genuinely need to sponsor an overseas employee. The genuineness of the nominated position is also something that needs careful preparation — case officers will weigh up factors such as the employer’s organisational structure and core business to assess whether there is a genuine need for the nominated position. The 186 visa also carries caveat requirements for some occupations, so pay attention to this when applying.

2. The occupation issue for 186 TRT

As mentioned above, the 186 TRT visa requires the applicant’s occupation to be on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). There is, however, one exception: anyone who held, lodged and was ultimately granted a 457 visa on or before 18 April 2017 is not bound by the new occupation list. Such applicants need only have worked for the same employer for two of the past three years and meet the new policy’s language requirements to apply for permanent residency.

3. For 457 visa holders

In our hands-on case experience, we’ve found that many people neglect to keep collecting and organising follow-up documentation after their visa is granted, which then makes it harder to convert to PR. We recommend getting in touch for an assessment as early as possible, so all that earlier effort doesn’t go to waste.

If you don’t meet the requirement of at least two years of relevant full-time work experience, the 407 Training visa can be used as a bridge.

The requirements for the 407 Training visa are as follows:

Requirements for the employer

• The employer must be a company registered in Australia

• The employer must pass the sponsor eligibility check

  
  

Requirements for the applicant

• Sponsorship and nomination from an eligible Australian company

• One year of full-time work experience relevant to the nominated occupation

• IELTS 4.5 or above

• The applicant must be at least 18 years of age

• Have health insurance

• No criminal record, and pass a health examination

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