On 22 November, the announcement that Australia’s borders would open to fully vaccinated students and most work visa applicants from 1 December flooded social media feeds. However, on 29 November, the policy was temporarily pushed back to 15 December due to the impact of a new variant. This Monday, both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health confirmed there will be no further delays — you can return on the 15th!
And so —early this morning,after nearly two years, the first travellers — including international students and skilled migrants —the first wave of non-exempt temporary visa holders has landed!
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Today’s headlines in the mainstream Australian media ————
On-the-ground photos captured by the Newstars team in Sydney this morning ————
Australia will continue to open up — opportunities for offshore skilled migrants
Even with the emergence of the new Omicron variant, both the Australian federal government and most state governments are continuing to monitor data closely,while pressing ahead with reopening — cautious but not panicked about rising case numbers, and committed to staying open.
Even before the full-scale reopening,Australia had already begun processing offshore skilled migration visas, and states were progressively announcing the reopening of state nomination to offshore applicants.All of this points to a promising outlook for offshore skilled migration in 2022.
So today, let’s talk about what’s available for
those of you who are currently outside Australia —
what opportunities are out there?
First, the perennial question for offshore applicants: once the doors open, will you have your skills assessment ready?
A skills assessment isa prerequisite regardless of which state nomination or skilled migration pathway you’re applying for —there’s simply no getting around it.Common assessing authorities — CPA Australia, Engineers Australia (EA), ACS, and VETASSESS — generally update their assessment conditions or processing standards on a yearly basis,and the validity period of a skills assessment result is typicallythree years,so getting your skills assessment done sooner rather than later is always the safest and most reassuring approach.
NT MINT Programme
A stable, one-step pathway to a Subclass 190 visa for offshore applicants
The Northern Territory government is currently the only state or territory in Australia to offer a skilled migration programme linked to fund investment. Applicants with an eligible occupation, a skills assessment, and a points score of at least 65 (including state nomination points) can receive an invitation by investing AUD 515,000 into the NT government’s bond fund and passing an anti-money-laundering check. The MINT programme also stipulates that when lodging an application,applicants must be represented by an officially approved panel agent,and unauthorised agents or self-represented applicants cannot participate.Simon Wu from Newstars’ Beijing office is one of the officially recognised NT Panel Agents,as verified on the MINT Fund’s official website:
https://www.paspalis.com.au/mint/
Advantages of the NT MINT Programme
– No need to compete for high EOI scores: meeting the Department’s threshold of 60+5 points qualifies for the Subclass 190 permanent visa; 50+15 points qualifies for the Subclass 491 provisional visa.
– The programme is stable — any qualifying occupation can lead to the Subclass 190.
– No minimum work-experience requirement — you only need to meet the conditions set by your assessing authority.
– No queue — secure your Subclass 190 or 491 allocation and lodge immediately.
MINT Programme Application Process:
1. Lodge a place-holder application through your Panel Agent;
2. Submit the NT state nomination application;
3. Receive the state nomination in-principle approval letter and complete the investment within 30 days;
4. Once the investment is complete and the anti-money-laundering check is passed, the fund manager notifies the state government;
5. State nomination approved & EOI invitation received;
6. Lodge the migration visa application.
Common Occupations Under the MINT Programme
Computing and IT-related occupations
VETASSESS-assessed occupations
Engineering-related occupations
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The reason we describe MINT as stable isthat even during the two years Australia’s borders were closed, MINT continued to issue invitations and grant visas to offshore applicants,and for now, even as states open up to offshore applicants, most are offering only the Subclass 491,whereas MINT still allows offshore applicants to go straight to the Subclass 190 permanent visa in a single step —get in touch for an assessment and consultation.
Our WeChat group for timely updates on returning to Australia is ready —
anyone who’d like to join
can add our customer service contact and leave the note: Return to Australia.
SA State Nomination — Subclass 491
First in this financial year to extend an olive branch to offshore applicants!
Before the pandemic, South Australia was consistently one of the most generous states for offshore applicants, offering the widest range of occupations. In 2019, most in-demand occupations were open, and although some had points and English requirements, allocations were typically snapped up within days of opening.
This September and October, South Australia was again among the first to signal its commitment to offshore applicants,announcing in September that 70 occupations would be open for offshore Subclass 491 applications, then in October following up with dozens of additional engineering occupations,and despite the requirements of eight years of work experience and an IELTS average of 7.5–8, this demonstrates South Australia’s consistent resolve to welcome offshore applicants.
A selection of occupations opened in September:
Tasmania State Nomination — Subclass 491
Allocations have already been set aside — invitations could arrive as early as the coming weeks!
Tasmania announced a new Subclass 491 state nomination policy for offshore applicants in January this year— known as the Tasmania 3A Stream — which requires applicants to be on the Tasmania occupation list and meet the requirements for each specific occupation. The 3A Stream uses an invitation-based model: applicants first submit an EOI, then lodge documentation with the Tasmanian government after receiving a preliminary invitation. In January, Tasmania indicated that once Australia’s borders reopened, it would begin inviting offshore applicants.More recently, the Tasmanian government has indicated that, if the timing works out, there could be an invitation round for offshore applicants as early as late December.
A selection of occupations on the Tasmania list and their requirements:
NSW Subclass 491 and ACT State Nomination
Worth watching for the long term — the future looks promising!
The following two pathways have not yet announced openings for offshore applicants, but they are worth keeping a close eye on for the future.
NSW Subclass 491 State Nomination
The NSW Subclass 491 state nomination has seen frequent changes in recent years — starting with applicants needing to apply to specific regional areas within NSW, then shifting to a centralised NSW government application. In 2020, NSW had planned to open an offshore applicant stream, but this never materialised, and by 2021 the stream had disappeared from the NSW government’s website altogether.
The 2020 NSW list had included numerous VETASSESS and IT occupations, such as marketing specialists and ICT project managers, with a requirement of five years of work experience. Many applicants had their documents ready and were eager to proceed, but NSW ultimately stood them up —and we hope that NSW will eventually reinstate state nomination for offshore applicants.
ACT State Nomination (Canberra)
In 2019, the ACT undertook a sweeping reform of its state nomination policy, introducing its unique matrix points system and simultaneously opening both the Subclass 190 and Subclass 491 state nomination to offshore applicants — and some of our overseas clients at the time benefited directly, securing Subclass 190 state nomination.The ACT’s matrix points system can be said to have been a great success, bringing far greater possibilities to the ACT state nomination pathway.
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Over the two years Australia’s borders have been closed, some may have given up, others kept putting things off — but many have completed their skills assessment and are waiting for the opportunity,as the saying goes, ‘opportunity always favours those who are prepared’ —with offshore state nomination policies not far away,applicants who complete their skills assessment and achieve the required English score before the doors open will be far better placed to act when the time comes.
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Study Abroad / Migration
Resources
Videos
Past Articles
End-of-year student centre holiday arrangements at various universities!
End-of-year student centre holiday arrangements at various universities!
Accountant approved in one month, chef gets nomination in two!
Confirmed: borders open on the 15th as scheduled! Treasurer announces increase in migration quota!
Offshore applicants: hundreds of occupations now open — don’t miss this window!
Migration information sharing and Q&A group
Step 1: Long-press to add our customer service contact
Step 2: After adding, please
This week’s border opening updates!Click ‘View Original’to watch the video — everything explained in detail!
