Australia is one of the major hubspots for migration purpose choosen by millions of immigrants from all over the world. Over seven million people has migrated to Australia since 1945 and this includes the identification of over 270 ancestries.

Multiculturalism is today’s reality of Australia and Australian society. We get to see the huge mix of all those people from different backgrounds.

If you are living overseas or within Australia as non-Australian Citizen and would like the opportunity to live and work in Australia, the first step is to find out about the visa options that are suitable to your skills and need.

There are various visa options available for non-citizens. One could qualify through their skills, or their family ties in Australia, or an invitation from state or territory of Australia, or through their existing business, or through the investment in Australian market. Not only this, Australia is also a favorable plae for refugee and humanitarian programmes.

One of the widely adopted way of migrating to Australia for a temporary visit is student visa and work visa for skilled migrants.

Student visa is classified under subclass 500. This visa allows a person to enter Australia to carry out a study while work visas are granted to those intending to come and work in Australia for a specified time. Information on how to select an appropriate visa can be found here.

Skill Select

Skilled workers and people for business and investment purpose who are interested in migrating to Australia can be considered for a skilled visa by submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect. An EOI is an indication that you would like to be considered for a skilled visa. Submitting an EOI does not guarrantee an invitation to apply for a visa. An EOI is not a visa application. Some subclasses on EOI requires further process other than EOI submission.

Skilled occupations lists

Above link provides information of occupation or profession that are available for short term, and medium to long term considered list. To nominate skilled occupations which are acceptable for permanent and temporary skilled migration to Australia, the list provides a detailed information.

Skills assessment and assessing authorities

There are authorities assigned by government to assess those occupations and classify them in a list of short term or medium to long term. These authorities assess educational qualifications, and skills or experience in relative field gained overseas or within Australia.

1. Travel for business

There are visa options available to conduct short business visits, establish a new business or manage a existing business, or make investment in Australian market. ​​This option provides pathway to short term residency and long term residency too.

2. Working Holiday Visa

Working holiday visa is designed for young people between 18 and 30 who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year. Not all country’s citizen are eligible to apply for this visa subclass. To apply for this visa, you must hold a valid passport from an eligible country. List of eligible countries can be found here.

3. Skilled Independent Visa

This visa is designed for those people who have the skills and qualification or both recognised as a required skillful person in Australian labour market. This is based on the points scored by an individual. The score is based on the residency in Australia, study within Australia or overseas, age, marital or defacto status, experience within Australia or overseas, English language skill etc. Over 45 years of individuals are not considered eligible for this visa subclass. No other forms of sponsor or nominator is required to apply for this visa. There is a different way of assessing application under this visa subclass for New Zealand Citizens based on their skills.

4. State or Territory Nominated Visa

This visa allows a non-citizen skilled worker to live and work in Australia for longer term. Two of the visa subclass assciated with its category is Visa Subclass 190 and Visa Subclass 491. While subclass 491 is a provisional pathway to permanent residency, subclass 190 serves as a permanent residency upon being granted. Subclass 190 and Subclass 491 are the state/territory or family sponsored visa for skilled workers. Each state or territory do have their own requirement to fulfill to be eligible or to be invited for the application.

This visa also required an individual to lodge an application through SkillSelect where an individual gets to choose the required location and provide commitment to stay outside of capital cities in Australia.

Not commiting to such requirement may hault an application from being invited.

An individual staying in regional Australia for more than 3 years earning an income threshold defined by the department will eventually be eligible to apply for permanent residency. The 3 year period counts from the time visa 491 is granted.

Processing time for these visa subclasses changes often and this can be found here.

Visa holders and migrants – know your workplace rights

Visa Holders in Australia does have the same rights as Australian Citizen in workplace. There are certain restrictions placed in meeting the eligibility for the positions in some companies however, if you are hired as an employee in some company, there should not be any form of discrimination or differentiation in terms of your workplace rights. Depending on the features of your position and role description, you should be treated equally. If you believe you have been mistreated at workplace, please report that to the higher authority in the company or contact FairWork to discuss the matter.

Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO)

VEVO is a secure online service which allows you to check and email your visa details, and provides information about your visa conditions. With your permission, VEVO can also give registered organisations a limited amount of relevant information on your visa conditions, for example if you are permitted to work or study in Australia.

_{Referenced from various Australian Government websites. Information not for sale.}